Meo Kittiwanich

Today, my job entails a little bit of everything, but it all comes back to anything that has to do with students and student support, like degree progress, student financials, admissions, etc. I manage our student services team of six to ensure all areas of student services are running smoothly. I advocate for our students and our team to help them navigate complex situations. I also collaborate with school and department leadership to move various initiatives forward.

The pandemic has been hard for our students, so we’ve been trying to find ways to help them navigate the isolation by creating events to help them connect with each other as well as faculty. We supported events like game nights over Zoom, for example, bringing them together for trivia. Now that we’re back on campus, we’re excited to find additional ways for students, faculty, and staff to connect in person.

I really enjoy helping the students; this is a very customer service-oriented position. For me, it’s fun and rewarding to work with them and help them navigate their concerns. This role requires a lot of empathy, patience, and understanding. You have to be able to connect with – and listen to – students as well as adapt to different personalities, learning, and communication styles.

I set high expectations for myself because I always want to do as well as I can. But I also try to allow myself grace. If I don’t finish everything on my to-do list every day, I give myself space and permission to do it next time. And I find that practicing gratitude, by writing three things I feel thankful for every day, helps me be more productive, focused, and positive in all aspects of my work.