Over the years, several Directors of Student Involvement have come and gone through the ASUI office, but current Interim director Shawn O”Neal has had a substantial impact on those involved in student government, said Briana Larson, ASUI Elections Coordinator.
Larson said that”s why she and and ASUI Pro Tempore Rachael Miller came together to write a senate resolution in support of making O”Neal the permanent director of Student Involvement. The resolution passed unanimously at Wednesday”s senate meeting.
“We were both in agreement that Shawn was the best director that we have personally experienced, and we wanted him to continue the job,” Larson said. “We knew a lot of other people in ASUI liked Shawn as well, so we thought, “How can we help and make sure everyone else gets to benefit from having Shawn around?””
O”Neal was hired as interim director for one year, and once the year was up the university would decide who would become permanent director.
Diamond Koloski | Argonaut
Interim Director of Student Involvement and ASUI Adviser Shawn O”Neal discusses the possibility of a permanent appointment.
As director, O”Neal oversees the five families of Student Involvement at UI – Student Media, volunteer programs, leadership programs, ASUI and Vandal Entertainment. O”Neal is the former adviser of Student Media, including The Argonaut.
O”Neal said he began working in a newsroom when he was 17 years old, and said accepting the interim director position was the first time he”d left a newsroom since. O”Neal said he was surprised with how much he has enjoyed his new position.
“Honestly, I didn”t think I”d like it as much as I do, but it”s been more fun than I thought it would be and I”m just now getting comfortable in it,” O”Neal said. “I like this position, but honestly I like working with students, period.”
O”Neal said he enjoys having conversations with students because they possess traits he said he doesn”t have.
“I”m careful and overly cautious, and I kind of like that working with students allows me to work with people who don”t necessarily have those restraints on them,” O”Neal said. “I”ve had so few conflicts with students over the years and I enjoy working with them a lot. It makes coming to work a good time.”
Larson said the ASUI office has changed for the better since O”Neal came into his position. She said she has taken advantage of his open-door policy many times.
“I ask him for advice just about every other day,” Larson said. “Part of the purpose of ASUI is to deal with administrators, and we don”t always get a listening ear because they have a million other projects going on, but Shawn is always willing to listen and help us figure out what steps to take next.”
Miller said O”Neal has empowered students in ASUI without stepping on their toes, which has allowed them to act as leaders on campus. She said his support has been especially helpful during times of stress.
“His door is literally always open, and he will drop anything to listen to students,” Miller said. “I”ve gone into his office and cried from the stress of ASUI so many times and he”s always there. If you ask for advice he”s more than willing to give it, but when you don”t want it he”s the best listener there is.”
Larson said O”Neal has created an open environment where students feel comfortable talking to him about anything, which hasn”t always been the case in the past.
“Shawn goes out of his way to learn everybody”s name and make a personal connection with everybody, and that”s not something that most people do,” Larson said. “His attitude in the office is noticeably different than other directors in the past, and I think it”s really improved the atmosphere of being here.”
Jessica Gee can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @JessicaC_Gee