Kathy Lee stepped into the role of director of student experience this semester, a position new to Point Loma Nazarene University, after previously serving as Nease West Hall’s residential director
The goal of this new position is to “help students build community, promote student success and foster personal development tailored to the unique needs of each year of students,” Lee said in an email interview.
Before this fall, Lee worked alongside the Student Life and Formation Office and Residential Life to create events such as Welcome Week and Sophomore September. She will continue to oversee these programs under this new position, along with Intercultural Pathways, she said.
She said the vision behind these programs is to “create more cohort-based experiences.”
“The needs and realities of a sophomore student are inherently different than those of a senior, and so the support and programs that a sophomore needs should be specific to their sophomore year experience,” Lee said.
One of Lee’s long-term goals as director of student experience is to create similar programs to Welcome Week and Sophomore September that appeal to the junior and senior classes.
“I hope that there will be more than one program per cohort and some programs that bring the collective student body together,” Lee said.
According to Lee, the Student Life and Formation Office has been planning on adding this position for a while.
PLNU Dean of Students Jason Cha has been involved in the conversations and creation of this new role.
Cha said that Lee’s background, including her graduate school training, involvement in Residential Life and investment in prior student experience events, is what made her the best candidate.
“I’m excited to see Kathy grow into this role and enhance the way we support and serve our students,” Cha said in an email interview. “I also know that Kathy brings a strong identity-conscious approach to this work, which is invaluable to serving our student body.”
Another role that Lee has taken over this semester is leading Alpha Groups, formerly led by Connor Mathisen, director of new student engagement and community life.
According to Lee, the Office of Student Experience intends to find a full-time associate director of first-year experience who would run Alpha Groups and Transfer Activities Groups.
Brooke Inman, a fourth-year applied health science major and Alpha intern, said Lee has “given 110 percent” to Alpha while she is the temporary lead.
“It didn’t take us very long to realize that she had such strong leadership skills and was going to be a good fit for our program,” Inman said. “She is so happy to do whatever needs to be done to give people the best experience they can in their first year, and in their second, third and fourth years, too.”
Looking forward, Lee said she believes that building trust, connection and relationships will be essential to her role. “I need to listen and pay attention to what our students are needing/wanting,” Lee said. “I need to bring others into this dreaming space if I want these programs to be planned intentionally and to truly bring about a student experience that deepens a sense of thriving.”
Sydney Brammer 
Angelica Moser