Residence Life Area Coordinator Steven Smith hosts a radio show on WWEC 88.3 each Wednesday night from 11 p.m. until midnight, providing the Elizabethtown College community with music and commentary. Besides working at Residence Life and hosting a radio show, Smith is considerably active throughout the Etown campus, including advising the junior class through Student Senate.
“I’ve worked for Residence Life at Etown since August, so almost one year, and I have worked in this type of position for two years total,” Smith said. “My previous position was a hall director at King’s College in Northeastern Pa. I am an area coordinator here, and currently I oversee Brinser, the Vera Hackman Apartments and the Schreiber Quads.” According to Smith, his job as an area coordinator is to supervise a staff of resident assistants and deal with all and any problems that arise in those areas. “I work with wonderful people who have taught me quite a bit, and I think we have some fun with programs and events,” he said.
According to Smith, the campus immediately made a positive impression on him. “I looked for jobs in Pennsylvania, and when I got to campus, I loved it,” he said. One of the first things Smith noticed about Etown’s campus is the amount of open fields surrounding the academic buildings. Having earned his undergraduate degree from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pa., he was not used to seeing so much grass. “There is so much green space, and flowers and trees. It’s like a whole new world for me, and I am a big fan of it,” he said. “I also loved the atmosphere of the residence life department here and really liked the people I met when I first came to interview.”
His feelings toward working at Etown have not faded since his first visit. “I love working at Etown,” he said. “The people I work with are fantastic, both in my department and in others. The students work hard, they are passionate about what they do and they are — for the most part — sweet and respectful of each other.”
As an area coordinator, Smith has made an effort to get to know campus and is easily seen all over campus. “I have recently taken up running on the track when the track team isn’t practicing,” Smith said. “It is not going well yet, but maybe next year I’ll be a lean, mean area coordinator machine. It’s probably because my previous favorite hangouts on campus were the Marketplace and the Jay’s Nest.” He is a big fan of the Jay’s Nest’s buffalo chicken quesadilla. “I could eat their whole supply and not feel bad about it,” he said.
In addition to working on campus, Smith is able to live out a dream of his. “I love that I was able to be on the radio,” he said. “I usually used the radio to sing along to in the car, but in the back of my mind I always thought, ‘How cool would it be to be the one on the radio instead of the one just listening?’ I did not go to school for broadcast or mass media, so I have zero experience. I enjoy the heck out of it though, regardless of how few listeners I have at 11 p.m. on Wednesdays.”
Despite having a limited audience, he enjoys knowing that the Jay’s Nest workers are listening to his weekly show. “Thanks to WWEC, I can live out a dream and have nobody hear me sing my lungs out, since the DJ booth is soundproof. Although I do feel bad for the evening staff in the Jay’s Nest for having to listen to me so much.”
Overall, Smith has found his experience at Etown to be very rewarding. “I think my favorite part of working here is that I get to work with students that are developing their leadership skills to take over the world from the current generation,” Smith said. “I like to think that, as part of Etown’s staff, I can be a part of helping that happen.”
