1. Department of Student Life
Fall 2015 Capstone
Erica Doherty, Wilson Zhang, Leila Sedigh, Brittani Samuel, Nicole
Peinkofer, Shaneka Rodriguez, Howard Spector, Lea Karnath

2. What does it mean to be a Department of
Student Life Intern ?
Mission Statement: “It is the mission of the Geneseo Department of Student Life to
catalog, promote, assess and strengthen student learning opportunities within
student and campus life that contribute to a rich, meaningful and fulfilling college
experience for Geneseo students.”

3. Initiatives

4. PAT - Peer Advisement Team
Purpose: Assess how Geneseo organizations are fulfilling their missions along with
discussing any challenges they may be facing
Implementation: Each intern was assigned a portion of student organizations to
meet and discuss their progress, purpose, goals, and ultimately, their biggest
challenges. After meeting collectively as interns, we identified common challenges
and determined final recommendations for the Department of Student Life

5. Major Issues
Attendance and Retention
Publicizing Clubs and Their Events
● Officer Transition and Eboard Participation

6. Final Recommendations
● Student Organization Workshop
● Officer Transition Program
● Incentive Program

7. CLIP - Campus Life Internship Project
Internship initiative of the Department of Student Life, the Department of Career
Development, and Office of Commencement Events
Aim: to assess expectation of the senior year experience
Feedback used to improve the different departments
Brainstorm → Survey → Focus Groups → Conclusions → Final Recommendations

8. CLIP Final Recommendations
Create a banner with a timeline of senior events that occur each year
Banner would appear on campus in a location visible to many seniors
Possible locations include College Union, ISC, Milne library
Work with SA Graphics to create an eye-catching banner with important
information and a QR code
Sending out a mass email to the senior mailing list starting at the very beginning of
the academic year

9. Department of Student Life
Internship Roles

10. General Student Life - What It Is
Programming Focus:
1. Create programs that promote the current semester's Student & Campus Life focus
2. Encourage school spirit and a sense of Geneseo pride within the college community
3. Develop activities that both educate and entertain
Marketing Focus:
1. Promote the many different ways students can become involved on campus
2. Share the benefits of being an active and engaged member of the Geneseo Community
3. Promote the events hosted by the Department of Student Life

11. General Student Life - What We Did
Mics & Mochas: It is a weekly open mic event held at Starbucks
-This semester we continued the tradition of holding Mics on Mondays from 7-8pm, new promotion
- Send weekly email to list-serves, Facebook posts
-Contact artists, YouCanBookMe.com
Blue & White Friday’s: Weekly campaign to promote school spirit, especially around Geneseo athletics
Proposed, promoted and programmed major events held in the MacVittie Union on the last Friday of every month to promote
this campaign
Correlated our programs with major events on campus in order to reach a broader audience and specify our activities (Family
Weekend, First Ice Knights home game, Thanksgiving)

12. General Student Life - What We Learned
>How to better communicate with other departments and programs offered on
our Geneseo campus (Duplicating Center, Teach for America, etc.)
>Importance of organization and creating a timeline when planning an event
>How to be adaptive to unpredictable situations such as last minute Mics &
Mochas cancellations or mis-scheduling of tables or meetings

13. What are we taking away?
-Connects to what we are learning for major
-Marketing on campus → marketing ourselves and our own companies
-Event planning skills
-Leadership/management skills

14. Geneseo Late Knight- What it is?
“GLK provides quality late-night entertainment during the
prime social times of 10pm-2pm every weekend and the
occasional Thursday 7pm-11pm that classes are in session.
GLK events are an opportunity for students to have fun, gain
unique and exciting experience in programming, leadership
development, and responsible social interaction. All GLK
programs are free and student organizations can apply for
grants to put on their very own GLK event.”

15. Geneseo Late Knight - Programming
What I did
Volunteered for one approved GLK event
Created a survey to determine what events students
are looking for from GLK
Conceptualized, planned, and executed
two events
10/30 - Tricks, Treats, & Transformations
11/21 - Happy, Healthy, Holidays
Assisted marketing intern with weekly tabling

16. Geneseo Late Knight - Programming
What I learned:
Discovered the importance of organization and time management while
undertaking multiple projects at one time
Developed effective leadership skills through project manager role and as a
team member
Practiced collaboration and learned how to work effectively within a group
setting

17. Geneseo Late Knight - Programming
Future Application:
Goal: Programming/ fundraising for a nonprofit
Programming skill set
Group initiatives
Budgeting

18. Geneseo Late Knight - Marketing
What I Did:
Weekly Responsibilities:
Social Media
Physical/Digital Signage
Tabling (biweekly→ weekly)
Emails
Special Events
Marketing the programming intern’s events
Spontaneous events
Volunteer at GLK event/programming events
Flyers (Homecoming Weekend, Week of Horrors)

19. Geneseo Late Knight - Marketing
What I Learned as a Leader:
Organization: when multitasking and prioritizing
Creativity: necessity of being innovative and thinking “outside of the box”
Teamwork: importance of support and asking for support from the interns
Enthusiasm: cannot expect other people to be excited if you are not
Adaptability: adapt to unexpected changes and new ideas

20. Geneseo Late Knight - Marketing
Final Application
Always held an interest in Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch
Common goal: make lives better/easier for others
What DSL does
What I did through my internship
-teamwork
-leadership role as project manager
-how to market events and get people to respond

21. Positively Geneseo - Programming & Marketing
What is Positively Geneseo?
Positively Geneseo was established to recognize
individuals and organizations for their efforts in
spreading positivity across campus. Through this, we
emphasize our values of Tradition, Excellence,
Innovation, Community, and Integrity.
Spreading the Positively Geneseo Campaign
Creating a Highlight Book
Planning an event

22. Positively Geneseo - Programming & Marketing
What we did:
Spreading the Positively Geneseo Campaign - Tabling
Power of Positivity Post-It Board
#PositiveOfTheDay
Hockey Banner
Senior Spotlight
Highlight Book

23. Positively Geneseo - Programming & Marketing
What did we learn?
Obstacles We faced
Engagement while tabling/tabling ideas
Responsiveness
Event Planning
Skills We Learned from These Obstacles
Time Management & Organizational Skills
Effective Communication

24. Positively Geneseo - Programming & Marketing
Future Suggestions:
Nomination Forms/Criteria
Reception Goals
More Events - to make others happy
Communicate more frequently

25. Upstate Escapes: What We Did
Goal: To plan and market events off-campus that will attract Geneseo Students
Fall 2015 Events
1. Great Pumpkin Farm
2. Syracuse vs. Pitt Football Game
3. Matilda
4. Lasertron

26. Upstate Escapes Travels to the Great Pumpkin Farm!

28. Upstate Escapes goes to see Syracuse Football!

29. Upstate Escapes: What We Learned
Emails are the most effective form of outreach
Geneseo students enjoy seasonal-themed activities
Different events will appeal to different demographics of Geneseo
Trust but verify
Attention to detail

30. Takeaways
Relates to both of our majors
Creating detailed plans
Professional communication
Working in a team

31. Thank you from the DSL Interns!
Any questions?