Hallie Arena (left) and Dana DePasquale at the Pre-Candlelight Reception
Hallie Arena and Dana DePasquale prove that you can be a leading lady without stealing the spotlight. The Assistant Director of Student Affairs and the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations embody the spirit of big thinking cultivated at Chatham, but they’re delightfully grounded. They grab lunch with students, scoop sundaes at the annual Ice Cream Social, teach yoga by the pond (Hallie) and own the stage at Battle of the Classes (Dana). Their dedication to the campus community is evident in their roles as co-advisors of the Student Alumni Association, ensuring that current Cougars form extraordinary bonds with those who graduated before them. Arena and DePasquale’s leadership is rooted in a willingness to dive in, and we’re grateful for all that they do to make Chatham feel like home.
Her Campus Chatham: Can you give us a sense of what your job at Chatham entails?
Dana: So originally, back in July of 2013, I was hired as Assistant Director of Annual Giving. I worked with student Phonathon callers and Senior Class Gift, the anniversary walkway. But then there was an opening in Alumni Relations, and I jumped at the chance to work for Ms. Cori Begg, our Director of Alumni Relations, and so today I am Assistant Director of Alumni Relations. And again, my areas of work include Student Alumni Association, Senior Class Gift still, Reunion, class Reunion ambassadors, working with our student assistant Mara on our social media channels, etc.
Hallie: In Student Affairs, we always joke and say you wear so many hats, and that’s really, I feel, my job. I literally have tasks from my job description posted on my wall next to me just in case I’m dropping the ball on one specific area.
Dana: That’s a great idea.
Hallie: So some of those areas include working primarily with our graduate student population, doing all of the programming and advocacy for them, as well as international students, our student veterans – our military students on campus – and working on our Family & Friends initiatives, working with the Parents Council as well as planning events such as Family & Friends Weekend or Siblings Weekend. S working with the different demographics and then also working on Student Affairs social media and keeping that updated, as well.
When did you both know that you wanted to go into higher education?
Dana: Immediately, for me. As a student at St. Vincent College, which is my alma mater, I was a Phonathon Caller myself all four years, and I had an opportunity upon graduation to work for a higher ed consulting company called Harris Connect. And basically I was placed across the country in different phonathon rooms to help manage them. So it was never not an option. I just really enjoyed feeling a part of a campus, knowing that whatever funds I helped to raise were directly affecting students by raising student scholarship dollars, and it just was a natural fit for me.
Hallie: For me, being a student here at Chatham, I got involved with a lot of different student organizations and I had worked in a lot of different offices within Student Affairs. Funny enough, now my colleague, Dr. Ron Giles, was my supervisor when I first worked at the Athletic and Fitness Center.
Dana: No way!
Hallie: Yeah! It’s pretty awesome. And so, he and the Director of Student Activities at the time had encouraged me when I was working over the summer to go to this leadership camp called LeaderShape. And when I returned from that camp, I switched working from his office to Student Activities, which he was totally supportive of, and I just knew. I think it became a realization that I could do it: just work with student leaders and make college not just somewhere you’re studying but make it your home and help you create your life here. And I just benefitted so much from it that I wanted that for other students. So that was my junior year, and then my senior year was when Dean Waite showed up at Chatham and I worked within that central office with her. She was just such an inspiration, and she really encouraged me to find the right grad school fit. Getting to work with her has just been a full circle dream come true, I guess.
Both of you just graduated college a few years ago, and you’re both in leadership positions that often involve working directly with current undergraduates. What advice do you have for students who graduate and take on leadership roles that involve supervising individuals only several years younger than they are?
Dana: I would say my piece of advice is to not wear your age on your sleeve. I think age is one of those funny guessing games where students like to ask, “How old are you? How old are you?” Personally, as a direct supervisor of students in a phonathon arena, it was really important to me for them to know that I was someone who should be respected, and I think that’s how you carry yourself. [It’s reflected in] your personality, your transparency, your honesty and your accountability with the students, holding them accountable. So age shouldn’t be a factor.
Hallie: I agree with that. I would also say from experience to still be yourself, right? You don’t have to pretend to be older and know more than you know. I think they respect you more when they trust you and you’re being honest.
Dana: Absolutely.
Hallie: Just be yourself. You know, if you don’t know the answer, that’s okay, you’ll figure out how to find it and give them the answer. So just be you.
Hallie, you went to Chatham for your undergrad. What tips do you have for someone who’s going to work at the same place they just went to college?
I did have two years off. I went from Chatham to grad school at Pitt and then came back to Chatham. And even in that time, just in two years, a lot of things had changed. And for me, it was certainly not about, oh, I already know everything about this, because I was in a whole new role. Being a professional as opposed to a student, there was so much more I had to learn, and I was very aware of that. And since there were just so many changes that Dean Waite had kind of implemented within campus life, which were so great for the campus. Honestly, I think for a student, if you’re going to work at your alma mater, just don’t assume that you know everything; be open to still learning. But at the same time, if you want to work for your alma mater, it’s because you loved your experience or you want to give back to it or you want to support it and you have that pride, so let that pride carry out through your work. I think a lot of students within their first job, it’s like, “oh, it’s work”. But particularly, if you’re going to work at your institution, let it be fun and let that experience that you had as a student – no matter what office you’re working in, if you’re working with students or not – let that energy flow through to your work.
I think both of you had interesting experiences because you, Hallie, went directly to grad school and you, Dana, went directly into the workforce. Could both of you touch on how those individual decisions benefitted you?
Dana: I wish I would have listened to my parents and saved more money in college. So to me, working was a necessity after I had graduated. I knew that I wanted to, quote on quote, see the country, so that’s why that job opportunity with Harris Connect was so exciting for me because I knew they would be compensating for my travel. However, I was placed in a very expensive city and, to this day, still wish I had saved more money in college. So I think Hallie’s advice from earlier about saving immediately is a great one. I was ready to move on to a professional work environment, but I hope that I don’t regret that one day when I don’t feel like going back to get a masters in something. I’m happy with the decision I made, though; just wish that I had saved more money in college.
Hallie: For me, I think it’s certainly not impossible to start working in Student Affairs without your masters degree, but it just is a good career choice. And so, I kind of knew right away when I knew I wanted to go into Student Affairs that graduate school was going to happen right afterward, so mentally I was prepared: Okay, after graduation, it’s going to be more schooling. But I wasn’t prepared for how I would grow so much in two years. During college, you think you have have four years to change. And in grad school, I guess I just wasn’t anticipating that big of a change. Looking at myself just starting grad school and ending grad school, I feel like I was such a different person. And I’m so thankful for the amount of responsibility that was placed on me that I really was not sure I was able to handle, but they gave it to me anyway. I dropped some balls but I survived and so, I think it was really important to have that experience. [I never had the opportunity to say], Oh, I’m just a grad student. I was given just as much work. So when I came into a full-time professional position, I didn’t say, Oh, I’m just the new kid. No. You’re going to take on just as much work.
Dana: If you could do it over again, would you not directly enter into a masters program?
Hallie: You know, I still would. And I think, mainly because now I have zero desire to go back to school and so I’m glad I just kind of kept with the pattern. So I was glad that I went straight through. I think for some other people it might not work that way.
Dana: Right. I think there’s a lot of pressure on students to, like the day after graduation, have your life figured out, and it’s not the case. I don’t regret the decisions I made—I certainly don’t—to enter into the workforce immediately upon graduation, but I think that I envied some of my friends who took their time.
Hallie: Right. I would also say … So, my stepbrother is not sure what he wants to do and he just graduated from college in December. And he thinks he’s going to go to grad school, but he’s not sure for what, and I don’t recommend that approach. I knew that I wanted to go into Student Affairs so taking on a masters program in a field I knew I wanted to go into was worth it.
Dana: It was a necessary step.
Hallie: Yeah. But if you’re not certain, and you’re just buying time going through grad school, I don’t think the expense and the stress of that is worth it.
Dana: That’s a great point.
What were your first jobs out of college, and what surprised you the most about them?
Dana: Like I mentioned earlier, I was the supervisor of a phonathon at the University of Vermont. And what that translates to is, basically, I had 50 student callers who had no experience in fundraising, and I had to train them to communicate effectively with strangers on the phone (the strangers being alumni of the University of Vermont). But it was exciting for me to be able to use the skillset that I have in communicating and help them communicate more effectively. That was exciting. Being in Burlington, Vermont was also a perk. That’s a great city, but an expensive one. But that was an opportunity that I’m glad I took on.
Hallie: My first job out of college was as a Graduate Resident Director at Pitt. It was my assistantship, but it very much felt like the responsibility of a full-time job. And I think what surprised me most was … you know, when you go through both high school and college, your hours are somewhat set out. But in college, it’s so great, you get into this routine: Oh, I’ve got an hour or two-hour break, I can go do my laundry or do my groceries. I think when I came into my first job, I wondered, when do adults have time to do these things?
Dana: So true!
Hallie: And I think just learning a whole new idea of time management. On some days, you’re going to work really early and stay really late. And in that time, you need to figure out when to get your groceries done, when to pay your bills. I think I respected my mom and every adult so much more after that.
Dana: Absolutely.
Hallie: But you learn, and then it becomes easy. It’s just that adjustment was a shock.
What do you look for when you’re hiring a student?
Dana: I think that that the answer depends on the job. You know, for a phonathon position, I want to hear your voice over the phone. I’m listening more to how you’re communicating, not necessarily what you’re communicating. In fact, we’re hiring for an Alumni Relations Student Assistant right now, and writing skills is so important and having savvy in social media channels is important. So it’s funny how, depending on the job, the skillset changes.
Hallie: For me, I look for two very specific things, and actually this can apply to any job that I’m looking for. You have to be good at customer service. Because if you can’t hold a conversation and be polite to someone when they’re stressed, I just don’t know what position I could put you in that you could handle. And I also look for a background that shows you’re willing to work. I think so many of our students say, My resume has to look so good that I need all these assistantships, I don’t have time to be a waitress or a bartender. I think that’s crazy, because being a waitress or a bartender is hard work. You’re on your feet, you’re dealing with crazy customers. If you’re able to handle that, you’re able to show that you’re a worker. Even if you worked on a farm, that’s manual labor. You’re willing to get in and get your hands dirty. I personally don’t like students who have had all of these things that were handed to them: educational, educational, educational. I need to know that you have a good work ethic. Customer service and work ethic are important to me.
Dana: A fun question to ask when you’re interviewing is, Why do you want this job? Because students’ answers are usually very honest. They’re either driven by the fact that they need immediate financial reward, a wage, they need to make money. But some people want to catapult themselves with the job, the skillset that it’s giving them. I always think that’s an interesting question to ask.
If you’re answering that question and maybe you’re not passionate about the position, but you think it would be interesting, how do you answer the question so that it doesn’t work against you? Because so often now, passion is listed in the job requirements.
Dana: I want them to be honest, but then you’re like, Really? You just want the money?
Hallie: Yeah. Well, I think that within any job that you take, all skills are transferable in some way. And so if you’re able to relate—even if you’re applying for a job that doesn’t make sense for your future—if you can articulate what skills you hope to gain in this position that would help you later, then it’s a homerun for me. I mean, right now, I have someone who’s a Biology major. That has nothing to do, necessarily, with communications or marketing or anything to do with event planning, but they want to work in community service. Because if they want to be a doctor, they have to work with patients. And so they saw that transition and that translation, and so I want to be able to help them hone these skills. Even though the position doesn’t match up with the career path, the skills will.
Dana: And maybe if you’re a student and you take on a position and it’s just not jiving with you, I don’t think that there’s any harm in kind of reevaluating and taking a step back. I think you need to know who you are and whether or not you’re going to want to get up for work everyday. That applies to us as adults. I mean, imagine not wanting to come to work.
Hallie: It would be really hard.
Dana: When I hear people say that, it breaks my heart, because it’s every day. So I don’t think that’s just applicable to adults. I want you to want to come to work.
What do you love about working at Chatham?
Hallie: I love the support.
Dana: Campus partners!
Hallie: Yeah, campus partners! Dana and I, you know, we don’t have to work together, but the fact that we decided to co-advise the Student Alumni Association has made all the other events that we do throughout the semester so much easier. I can even call on her for other events that I just want her to come with me to support that might be other offices’. Like, today she’s judging the library’s event for the International Edible Book Festival, and I’m going to go to it. It’s things like that that make Chatham so great: that you can reach out to people across campus. And it’s not about needing favors all the time, it’s about wanting to support you because I’ve gotten to know you. I love that about Chatham: that you can go into the dining hall and have lunch with your faculty or staff member.
Dana: We were dining with students today.
Hallie: Yeah, today—Dana and I don’t work in the same office—but we had lunch with students. And sometimes I’ll sit with the folks in IT over lunch. So I think that is what makes Chatham so great.
Dana: And just the fact that those opportunities exist. I mean, the fact that there’s an Edible Book Festival at 4 o’clock today at the library. It’s such an active, thriving campus, and if it weren’t, I don’t know if I’d be as happy. You know, it might seem counterintuitive that you want to work more. For example, there are so many weekend events or after-hours events—like after 5 o’clock—but I want to go to them. And I think that’s a really nice feeling in a work setting: that you want to work more than just your 9 to 5. I think it’s pretty rare, but it’s such a thriving, active campus that you have those opportunities.
Hallie: And you’re not really going to find a job that gets you 9 to 5 anymore, anyway.
Dana: Totally.
Hallie: So if you can have one that makes you happy to show up after work hours, then that’s pretty worth it.
Dana: And just the actual beauty of the environment. I think about how beautiful campus is all four seasons. Just really a beautiful place to work.
What do you think it is about Chatham that catalyzes supportive relationships between women?
Dana: Maybe that we need each other to succeed? I think that—and Hallie spoke to this in the last question—if you’re going to succeed as a Chatham University employee, then you need to build relationships with other offices on campus because we all wear many hats. Many, many hats. Because it is such a small campus in terms of infrastructure and how many people work here. I’ve never not been greeted with a warm welcome from any female employees.
Hallie: I feel like at Chatham, both our students and our staff dream big. Take it on and then they’ll support you to make it happen. And when I say that, it’s like when we come up with a great idea for the Student Alumni Association: It’s just on us to make it happen, but we’re supported by other resources. So if IT needed to help us make a concert happen, they’d help us make a concert happen. We know that we’re capable of doing it because we have the assistance of others, and I think we teach that to students within student organizations as well. If you have an idea, we’ll support you to make it happen, but we won’t do the work for you. You’re going to make it happen.
Dana: The no coddling rule.
Hallie: Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Dana: But it’s fantastic to have so many important female leaders on campus. We both have the opportunity to work for such powerful women that have these dynamic personalities. We’re very fortunate. Shout-out to Cori and Zauyah!
Hallie: Yeah, definitely.
The Student Alumni Association is one of the best examples of sisterhood on campus. Can you tell us a little bit about what the organization is and what members can expect when they join?
Dana: Student Alumni Association’s sole purpose is to connect students to the Alumni Association: those alumnae sisters and alumni brothers now. I mean, it’s really important that students understand that after they graduate, they have a responsibility to not only come back to campus (in the sense of attending an event), but also just to provide support to the students who come after them. I think we help facilitate that with the events that we plan.
Hallie: When you go through an institution, you have so much pride for it. [As a student], you may see a Chatham alum in the paper and think that’s really cool. [We can say], You’re going to have lunch with her or you’re going to have dinner with her. Giving that opportunity to the students is, I think, what makes it so great.
Dana: And there’s a second part, which is the philanthropic awareness that we try to build. Senior Class Gift is the best example: that idea of giving back in not just your time, but also financially. It’s not how much you give, it’s just the sense that you participate in giving and whatever that means to you. We try to build that philanthropic awareness.
What do you do in your roles as advisors of the organization?
Hallie: I think a lot of times, it’s just supporting the ideas that they have and the initiatives that they have and kind of making those happen on campus for them. I think they think about the forest, and we help them think about the trees.
Dana: [laughing] That was beautifully said. We have four officers: We have a president, a vice president, a secretary and an events/PR coordinator. I think we just support them in facilitating meeting times and making sure we remind them that we have an event coming up. How are we going to promote this? Who’s going to staff it? I think we’re facilitators more than advisors.
Hallie: Which is something Dana and I both worked on at the beginning of this year: that there’s a difference between supervising and advising.
Dana: Yes.
Hallie: Because when you’re supervising, you need them to get stuff done. When you’re advising, when an event doesn’t go through, you have to let it not go through and then build them back up when it doesn’t. In supervising, when it’s your job and you’re paying them to do it, that’s different.
Dana: Yeah, absolutely.
What do you like most about working with students?
Dana: Everything.
Hallie: I know. I think what I like most about working with students is the energy and the creativity. You know, I’d mentioned this in an earlier comment about the amount of time that you spend once you get into a full-time professional position. For students, creativity comes in a little more naturally than it does for someone who sits behind a desk throughout the day. I love working with students because they give me that boost. If I have to take time away from my desk and doing very task-oriented things to have meetings with students who are just brilliant, then it not only gets me excited about what they were talking about, but I take that energy back to my office and say, You know what? I can make this project this much better. It’s just really important for me to be consistently meeting with students and feeding off their enegy.
Dana: And at the end of the day, these students are going to be our alumni in one year, two years, three years, four years. I want to build relationships with students now so that when I’m emailing them, writing them, calling them upon graduation, I’m not just a stranger. I think that relationship’s important. And I want them to know that Student Affairs – even after they graduate – is still there for them. The Office of Career Development. The Registrar, if they need their transcript. Alumni Relations. University Advancement. After they graduate, we don’t go away, and I want them to know who we are. I think that’s important.
What is the most important thing your time at Chatham has taught you?
Dana: Patience.
Hallie: Balance. I think, a lot of times when you work in a university setting, there are a lot of late nights, weekends. A lot of desk time is demanded, but there are a lot of things you’re expected to be away from your desk for. And [you need to balance] finding what’s really enjoyable and [determining when] you have to put the pedal to the metal. I think it has taught me that, yes, we have to have a meeting: at what point can it be catching up with colleagues that you haven’t talked to in awhile, and at what point do you pound out this really important proposal?
Dana: So prioritizing.
Hallie: Yeah.
Dana: Knowing what your priorities are. Because we are pulled in so many directions. But I also think that it’s taught me that work/life balance is important, too, not just balance at work. I think that we have such a welcoming community here that I want to socialize with you after work. I think that that’s been a nice lesson: that you can have that balance at work and at home.
What do you hope your legacy is at Chatham?
Dana: Okay, so my legacy will be that Student Alumni Association is still an organization.
Hallie: That’s good.
Dana: That we have a larger association with both graduate- and undergraduate-level students. We have more alumni representatives that are present at meetings and attending events. That no events are cancelled and that Senior Gift will be a statue in honor of me. [laughs] The Class of 2025. The Senior Class Gift: statue of Dana DePasquale. Actually maybe inside of the pond.
Hallie: [laughs] Like a fountain!
Dana: Yes, that’s me.
Hallie: I don’t know how to top that one.
Dana: Maybe a dance studio will be named after you.
Hallie: Well, actually, that reminds me: When I was growing up, I hoped my legacy would be that I’d be so good at basketball that they would name a gym “The Hallie Arena”.
Dana: Aw, that’s your last name!
Hallie: But now, I’m getting married, so now my legacy that I want to leave at Chatham is that the AFC Gym becomes the Stotsky Arena, because that will be my new last name.
Dana: That’s adorable. That totally tops my fountain!
If you want to join the Student Alumni Association, apply here.