Ashley Kockler

Community Director, Harbin Hall
Hometown: Nevada, Iowa
Time at Georgetown: 3 1/2 years

Why did you choose to come work at Georgetown?
I felt it was a different group of students that I would get to work with than I would have gotten to work with back at home. Really intelligent students, students who wanted to go to college, who were pursuing different types of classes and future employment, and so just the chance to work with a different type of student population that maybe I wouldn’t find in a larger population where I’m from.

How would you define the Georgetown student?
Passionate and driven, goal-oriented and focused, but yet at the same time has like a sense of adventure and really looking for a way to make a difference in the world.

What is the general nature of your role as community director?
I am here to be a resource for the students as they live on campus. Are they having problems with a roommate, are they looking for new ways to get involved both on and off campus, academically, personally. I’m basically just kind of that ground-up person that helps them find their way here when they first come on campus. Since I primarily work with first-year students, I’m one of the first faces that they see, so I’m that be-all end-all resource that they know is here.

What is the greatest challenge of being that resource for students?
The greatest challenge is when I tell a student something they don’t want to here, and helping the student understand and making an educational moment out of receiving an answer that they don’t like or facing a consequence that is maybe not what they were hoping for, and helping them understand that that’s a building block in going from there.

What memorable moments have you had in working with students?
I think one of my favorite moments was when I had a student come up to me after I had to give an hour-long presentation about what life was like at Georgetown, and the student just came up and said she was really looking forward to living here, “You make it seem really exciting and a place I’m going to enjoy.” That’s just a really good feeling and a good memory, and other stuff has built upon that, but all of my good memories from Georgetown are when students are just happy and they enjoy living here.

Have you noticed any differences in each new group of students that comes to live here?
Yea. I sometimes refer to incoming classes of freshmen as kind of like roller coasters. Some are on the upswing of maturity and some are more … they’re still trying to figure it out. And so each year there’s kind of a learning curve to figuring out each different incoming first-year class. They all have similar characteristics in that they want to be here, they’re really intelligent, they have a lot to offer. It’s just more or less where do they fall on the maturity scale, and what do we really have figured out about the real world. Each year’s different on where they’re at.

What is one thing Georgetown does well?
Georgetown does a really good job of challenging students to continue to be the best version of themselves. That’s what the Ignatius values are about: creating the best version of yourself and who you’re really supposed to be. And I think Georgetown does a really good job of creating that well-rounded, holistic student. Both academically, in the living environment, in all the extracurricular activities, and just creating that person you’re really supposed to be on graduation day.

What is one thing Georgetown could improve?
I think encouraging students to take more time for themselves. There’s so much going on here, and there’s so much pressure to be the best of the best, and I think sometimes students lose sight that this is a four-year institution and that they’re only going to get this opportunity once. As an institution we could do a better job of encouraging them to have more fun — responsible fun —but more fun and just really enjoying this time for what it is, rather than always looking toward the future and the big picture. Encouraging students to really enjoy the here and now is something that I think we could do a much better job at.

Is this common problem that you see on campus, people doing too much?
I think it’s something that first-year students struggle with more than maybe juniors or seniors; juniors and seniors have it a little bit more figured out. Whereas first-year students want to do as much as humanly possible because they think they need to do everything in order to be successful, and that’s not the message we’re putting out there, but they’re getting it from somewhere else. I think they take on a lot more than maybe they’re ready for, or they’re maybe not doing it all for the right reasons.

Is there anything you’d like to add?
I honestly think Georgetown is one of the best places for students to come to get an education. Not only inside the classroom, but outside the classroom, and I think that very same mentality applies to professional staff. I am not the same person today that I was when I started here, and Georgetown played a really big role in that, both positive and negative, like trying to figure out how that all plays a role into it, and I think there’s no better place to become who you’re supposed to be than here, and as long as people see and understand that, then they’re going to get what they need out of here.

Interview by Robert DePaolo