By Izabela Szydlo
Stefanie Neumann has big shoes to fill this semester.
Her role as Residence Life Facilitator has her replacing Shaun Carson, who accepted a position on campus as Leadership Development Facilitator.
“I think my feet are a little bit smaller than Shaun’s,” Neumann joked. “I know Shaun is very popular and hopefully I can bring new things to the job but fulfill the standards that he has set.” Neumann, who was hired at the beginning of January, said she’s looking forward to the semester.
But with her time as facilitator limited to a four-month contract, she doesn’t expect too many changes in the routine followed by staff. “I don’t think it’s going to be in my schedule to make many changes, but it seemed like an interesting opportunity,” she said. “It’s exciting to be involved in university life.”
Glen Weppler, manager of student housing services, said his main goal was to fill the vacant position before the start of the term. He hired Neumann, who has worked in housing at the University of Guelph and also worked abroad. In the meantime, a posting for a full-time position has been posted.
“The fact she’s worked in residence life and the fact that she’s travelled abroad are really great benefits for residence life,” he said. Neumann worked as a Senior Residence Assistant at the U of G for two years and spent time in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. She said she thinks her experience outside of Canada will help her connect to the student staff in residence. “I wasn’t just traveling in Asia; I was actually working in Vietnam,” she said.
“It’s so interesting because you see so many different perspectives. There was a lot of cross-cultural communication.” She said she thinks her worldly knowledge will help her communicate with international students. But, she said she’s most looking forward to her new position because the student residence staff inspires her.
“I’m really interested in the position that the students have taken on because it’s not too economically beneficial but everyone is so involved and enthusiastic,” she said. “Ryerson is such a dynamic community; I can’t wait to get as involved.”
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