Shawn O’Neal has had a variety of jobs in his lifetime, but every single one of them has always led back to the same conclusion — his calling is working with students.
“What I have discovered in the process is I really have a passion for students and I just enjoy their company,” O’Neal said. “I think they are fun and funny and they are honest, and that is why I came to UI in the first place.”
O’Neal was the Interim Director of Student Involvement (DSI) for more than a year, and he was made the permanent director Sept. 26.
O’Neal said at the beginning of his career search, he didn’t think he would end up being such a large part of students’ lives at the University of Idaho.
O’Neal said he began his professional career working for the Moscow-Pullman Daily News, and he then went on to work as a reporter in Seattle. He said after a few years in the city, he felt it was time for a change.
Diamond Koloski | Argonaut
Director of Student Involvement Shawn O’Neal engages with students Oct. 11 at the ASUI booth during the Coming Out Carnival at the Idaho Commons.
“I left my dream job, and I was doing everything I ever wanted to do at a very high level,” O’Neal said.
He said the career change brought him back to Moscow, and eventually he ended up returning to the Moscow-Pullman Daily News by seizing an opportunity.
“I banged on the window outside of where my old boss was holding a meeting and yelled, ‘Hire me,’ and I didn’t think anything of it,” O’Neal said. “But when I drove home that night, he called me and offered me a job. So, I came back to Moscow where I began in the first place.”
After a short time as a reporter in Moscow, O’Neal said he was offered a job as the Student Media adviser at UI. He said although advising a student news organization was not his “dream job” at the time, his dream changed once more.
O’Neal said he found his passion in the university setting because of the time he spent as Student Media adviser. But this translated into his love for working with students through DSI.
“The mentors I had in college were legitimately the biggest change agents I had in my life at the time,” O’Neal said. “I really have a passion to give students the same experience that I had in college.”
Cruz Botello, the president of ASUI, said O’Neal’s passion for students is apparent on a daily basis, no matter what the day brings.
“He’s very well versed and experienced, and he brings all that to the table in a way that he can just advise and be supportive of myself and the whole organization, and just anyone else around,” Botello said.
He said O’Neal always knows just what a student needs to be successful, even though every student is different.
“He is very clear-cut and to the point if you need him to be,” Botello said. “But he can also take his time and give you several options and ideas for any situation or problem.”
O’Neal said one of his main goals in his first year as the permanent director of Student Involvement is to assist in achieving the goals of the entire program. However, he has a personal mission to better the department as well.
O’Neal said the biggest problem for DSI has been a lack of stability, and he hopes to secure the stability that the students need.
“Stability and a long-term presence is really important, because students want consistency in their programs, and for me it’s giving additional support to students and the staff and faculty,” O’Neal said.
He said to achieve every goal of the department will take time and patience, and he knows that even then it can be difficult.
“We aren’t going to be perfect and we aren’t going to meet every single goal and objective we set, but we can do what we want to do in the right way with integrity by helping students find what they are looking for,” O’Neal said. “If this position and this office can create that, then we have achieved something.”
Botello said O’Neal has already become a large part of DSI.
“Overall, Shawn is very supportive of what we do. He never tells me that what I’m doing is a bad idea or that I shouldn’t go solving a problem in a certain way I believe is the correct way to do it,” Botello said. “He gives advice that can help you to make the right decision for yourself.”
O’Neal said choosing to work with students every day was one of the best decisions he has ever made. He said because of the students, no two days are alike in his position at UI.
“That’s the cool thing — no day is typical,” O’Neal said. “This university has given me the life I never thought I could have.”
Hailey Stewart can be reached at [email protected]