Orientation Professional Staff

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: mccoyta@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.

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

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.

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.

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. 

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.