Meet A Deac

In this Issue: today is a Meet A Deac staff profile

It’s Monday – which means it’s time for another Meet A Deac! Today it’s my pleasure to introduce you to a colleague who works closely with our Student Union, Brandon Lokey.

Brandon, thanks for being this week’s Meet A Deac. To get us started, please give me your title and how long you’ve worked at Wake. I am the Assistant Director for Student Engagement – Student Union in the Office of Student Engagement in the Department of the Dean of Students. I have worked at Wake since April 2022 – so I am still pretty new.

Can you share a bit about your educational background? I have a Bachelors of Music Business Management from Union University and a Masters of Science in Education – Higher Education Student Affairs from Baylor University.

In laypersons terms, how would you describe your job? I work with Student Union to ideate, plan, and execute about 200 events a year. These events range from craft nights to concerts, films to festivals, and trivia to major traditions like Lighting of the Quad, Senior Sendoff, and more! I also work with Student Engagement to plan and execute major campus-wide programming initiatives like Family Weekend and Homecoming. In addition, I chair the First Six Weeks committee, and – here’s a teaser – I will be spearheading our Pathways to Involvement pilot in the Fall of 2023. More on that initiative to come in due time.

What would you like people to know about your job and your department? Campus Programs are so much more than pizza parties or movie marathons! Rather, these events give students opportunities to connect with others that they may not otherwise have met in their residence halls or their classes. These events allow our students to find community – peers who like the same films, music, or hobbies as they do, for example. Research shows that students’ sense of community has a radically positive impact on their persistence in a higher education setting, as well as their success. These events allow our students to experience something that they may not otherwise have done, all in a safe and developmentally-impactful manner.

The other thing I would want people to know is that I am an expert in my field, as are my Campus Life colleagues. My expertise is in student development theory, which means I know how to walk alongside our students and present them with unique opportunities for growth that are both meaningful and fun.

Is it too soon in your tenure here to ask what you like best about working here? Not at all. Wake Forest is an amazing environment within which one can be truly creative. I have had multiple opportunities to sit with students and ask, “What is your dream event?” and then work with them to bring that dream to life. It’s such a unique space.

Speaking of students…what advice would you give them if they asked you? I know that Netflix has that new show you are dying to watch, but that show will be there next week, or next month. But, today’s event is only today! There is no replay option.

And what advice would you offer for parents and families? Encourage your students to try something new. They will not be in a place where their friends are next door, their food is across the Quad, and there are activities every night – well, not until they get to a retirement community or a nursing home 🙂 This is their time to get out there and fully experience the freedom and convenience of the Wake experience. Go to that play, pop in to that concert, try your hand at trivia night. Lean into this experience, because after college you will have to work harder to connect with these kinds of experiences.

Have you found a favorite place on campus yet? Either Camino in ZSR or Reynolda Gardens.

Time for the bonus questions!

Book(s) you’re reading now, and/or podcasts you are listening to: What if I say the Wrong Thing, by Vernā A. Myers; The Art of Gathering by Priya Parker; and The Inclusive Mindset by Justin James-Fosu.

Favorite band/musician/music: My favorite composers are Chopin, Liszt, and Gershwin. For favorite artists and bands, I’d say Alicia Keys, Adele, Johnnyswim, Ella Fitzgerald, Louie Armstrong, Tall Heights, Sigur Ros, and The Mamas and the Papas.

TV/movies/Netflix, etc. that you love: For movies: The Village, You’ve Got Mail, Inception, Interstellar. And my TV shows would be Schitt’s Creek, Great British Baking Show, Making the Cut, and Parks and Recreation.

Website(s) you frequent: Inside Higher Ed, The Associated Press, Buzzfeed.

What brings you joy? Really beautiful music, having art galleries and museums to myself, the smell of petrichor [the unique, earthy smell associated with rain], watching students experience transformational moments of realization – in other words, their a-ha! moments.

Introvert or extrovert? Extroverted Introvert

Something most people don’t know about you? Unless you follow me on social media, you wouldn’t know that I’m a pretty good cook/baker.

What else didn’t I ask that you want to share? I have an amazing rescue dog named Sam, and he usually comes to work with me about 4 hours a week.

Many thanks to you, Brandon, for being this week’s Meet A Deac, and for all you do for our students and our campus community.

Reminder: you can read past Meet A Deacs here.