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Orientation Professional Staff

Untitled Document

Kelly Rifenbark | Sarah Orem | Sarah Sunde | Stephanie Shifflett | Tisha McCoy-Ntiamoah |

Debbie Pine | Denise Cooper | Nicole Lee | Alex Waldie | *Not Pictured, Jonathan Schuett

 

Tisha McCoy-Ntiamoah

Director

 

Hometown: Chicago, Illinois

 

Schools Attended:

University of Kansas, Business Administration

University of Maryland - College Park, College Student Personnel Administration

 

Favorite Quote: "The important thing is this: To be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." ~Charles Dubois

 

Email: mccoynta@jmu.edu

 

My role as the director is to: support the university mission, vision and values through programming efforts that engage new students and set academic and social expectations for their collegiate experience; provide vision for the development, planning and implementation of programs to help new students acclimate to the JMU community; engender support and collaboration from campus constituents to facilitate successful orientation programs; and empower the departmental professional and student staff to serve incoming students and their families.

 

 

Stephanie Shifflett

Administrative Assistant

 

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Hometown: McGaheysville, Virginia

 

 

Favorite Quote: " No one, Eleanor Roosevelt said, can make you feel inferior without your consent. Never give it." ~Marian Wright Edelman

 

Email: shiff2sd@jmu.edu

 

My role as the administrative assistant is to: support the Director of Orientation, coordinate family check-in, coordinate hospitality logistics, provide general administrative support to the department, coordinate all Orientation reservations for Summer Springboard Orientation, 1787 Orientation and December Transfer Orientation.

 

 

Sarah Sunde

Associate Director

 

 

Hometown: Madison, South Dakota

 

Schools Attended:

Minnesota State University, Mankato, International Relations

Bowling Green State University, College Student Personnel

 

Favorite Quote: "The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience." ~Eleanor Roosevelt

 

Email: sundesa@jmu.edu

 

 

As the Associate Director, I oversee the programmatic aspects and publications while support the development of staff and students. In this role, I assist in ensuring first year and transfer students successfully transition to JMU through outstanding programs, peer connections, and resources to help them along the way.

 

 

 

Sarah Orem

Assistant Director - Programming

 

 

Hometown: Harrisonburg , Virginia

 

Schools Attended:

James Madison University, Communication Studies

Bowling Green State University , College Student Personnel

 

Favorite Quote: "I am only one but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do." ~Helen Keller

 

Email: oremse@jmu.edu

 

 

As the Assistant Director of Programming I have the opportunity to collaborate with key stakeholders in the JMU community to create the Transfer and First Year Summer Springboard programs and the Transfer and First Year 1787 August Orientation experience. I also coordinate Madison Transfer, a resource area dedicated to serving the needs of prospective, incoming, and currently enrolled transfer students.

 

 

Kelly Rifenbark

Coordinator of Student Staff

 

 

Hometown:Merriam, Kansas

 

Schools Attended:

University of Kansas, Social Work

Bowling Green State University, College Student Personnel

 

 

Two Favorite Quotes: "Your passion is waiting for your courage to catch up." ~Marilyn Greist

"Live simply so that others can simply live." ~Gandhi

 

Email: rifenbkl@jmu.edu

 

 

As the Coordinator for Student Staff, I have the opportunity to work with amazing JMU student-leaders in various roles within Orientation. I directly supervise the Student Orientation Coordinators who are charged with recruiting, selecting, and training the Orientation Peer Advisers, Assisting New Students, and First-yeaR Orientation Guides. I, also, coordinate the Peer Advising and Leadership in Orientation course in the spring. 

 

 

Debbie Pine

Assistant Director - Operations

 

 

Hometown: Mt. Crawford , Virginia

 

School Attended:

Madison College (JMU), Sociology

 

Favorite Quote: "A friend is one before whom I may think aloud." ~R.W. Emerson

 

Email: pinedf@jmu.edu

 

 

I oversee the Operations branch of the Orientation Office through coordination, staff supervision and delegation with a focus on customer service, orientation reservations, technical functions, clerical support, fiscal accountability, and essential logistics of the day-to-day and long term functioning of our office. 

 

 

Denise Cooper

Administrative & Operations Specialist

 

Hometown: Dryfork, West Virginia

 

Schools Attended:

Randolph County Vocational/Technical Center, Distributed Cooperative Training (DCT)

Davis & Elkins College, Computer Science/Business Administration

 

Favorite Quote: "Reach for the moon and you will land among the stars!"

Email: cooperdm@jmu.edu

 

I specialize in coordinating all Orientation reservations for Summer Springboard Orientation, 1787 Orientation and December Transfer Orientation.  This includes all change of major request, change of date request and fielding a variety of questions from students and their families concerning their JMU Admissions and Orientation.  I also supervise the operations student staff: Orientation Operations Assistants (OOAs) and the Operations Assistant Coordinator (OAC), while maintaining a high-functioning, well-organized, efficient, service-oriented office system.

 

 

Nicole Lee

Graduate Assistant - Web & Publications

 

 

Hometown: Chesterfield County, Virginia

 

Schools attended: 

James Madison University, Communication Studies

James Madison University, Writing, Rhetoric and Technical Communication

 

Favorite Quote: "A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book" ~Irish Proverb

 

Email: leeni@jmu.edu

 

 

I am responsible for creating, maintaining, coordinating and collaborating with others on all of Orientation's web sites and publications including the One Book, the Transfer One Book, and other departmental publications. I also assist with Orientation programming as needed. 

 

 

Alex Waldie

Graduate Assistant - Student Staff & Programming

 

 

Hometown: Winchester , Virginia

 

Schools Attended:

James Madison University, Psychology

James Madison University , College Student Personnel

 

Favorite Quote: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." ~Henry David Thoreau

 

Email: waldieal@jmu.edu

 

 

My primary responsibilities are to coordinate the student staff retreat that takes place in February, and to assist with recruiting, selecting and training the Orientation Student Staff.  I also coordinate the student volunteers for the Admission's Open House programs and work with others in putting together the Orientation Team Survival Guide.

 

 

Jonathan Schuett

Graduate Assistant - Assessment

 

 

Hometown: Fort Mill, South Carolina

 

Schools Attended:

University of South Carolina Upstate, Psychology

James Madison University, Psychological Sciences

 

Favorite Quote: "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius, and a lot of courage, to move in the opposite direction." - Albert Einstein

 

Email: schuetjh@jmu.edu

 

 

For my graduate assistantship I handle any statistical analysis or data assessment associated with the surveys and evaluations that the Orientation Office distributes throughout the year. I also work closely with the Center for Assessment and Research Studies to review data for incoming students that assesses how well they transition into the James Madison community.