Interview and Story by Brice Hamack
Quotes and Photographs compiled by Sam Shupe

Jen and her husband Jeff with their twin boys.

Jen Droege—If  you mentioned that name to most students, a common response might be “Is she a professor?  Was her final hard?  What does she teach?!  Please tell me so I don’t accidently sign up for her class!”  Ok, maybe the reaction might not be that extreme, although at the tail end of finals week it wouldn’t surprise me.

Now try asking students about UW Bothell’s student life program.  You will hear stories about their fantastic freshman orientations, their great experiences with student housing this year, how much of a blast they had playing on a recreational sports team, and how the amount of on campus events has
increased year after year since they’ve started coming to campus.

“I remember being interviewed by Jen and two other staff for my first position at UWB as an Orientation Leader. Would I have not had the chance to be involved on campus, my college experience would not be as fulfilling as it is today. Thanks Jen for the opportunity to work at Student Life. Best wishes.”—Andrew Nguyen

“I have loved working with you. You are such a great person, and a terrific advisor. Hope you have a great time with everything in the future. You will be greatly missed.”—Maryam Soomro

Are you starting to get an idea of who this Jen Droege person is yet?   Originally from Ohio, she moved out to the Pacific NW because her husband had been offered a job to work on the Boeing 787.

“We wanted an opportunity to see another part of the country, and we’d been there [Seattle] before and really liked the area.”

Unlike most college students who walk through the halls always trying to figure out what they want to do with their life, even carrying these thoughts as they hold their diploma in hand, Jen discovered her passion early on.

“I figured out during college that I really liked the work my student life office did at my undergrad, and I really wanted to be a part of that long term.”

Jen came to the UW Bothell campus over three years ago.  She stepped immediately into the role of Director of Student Life on a campus that ironically didn’t have much life in that department.

“I started a month before the first freshman arrived, which is why they created the position to begin with.  They realized they needed to create more opportunities for student engagement.  This campus today is so different from what it was in the summer of 2006, it’s just amazing what’s happened here.”

“She was always willing to answer my questions in person, which I really appreciated since I operate better that way than through email.”—Winston Bonnheim

Creating student life on a campus that had no experience in such things is not the easiest task though.   Jen and her team had a plan though, and it turned out to be brilliant in its simplicity.

“Jen has brought smiles, laughter and life to our campus. Faith and I love her. She will be greatly missed!”—Alyssa Russell

“We kind of had this fake it to make it philosophy; if we made it seem like things were happening, then students would think that things were happening, and people would stick around, and it worked…we also had some really dedicated student leaders who really made things happen, leaders who were willing to take risks.”

Risks such as planning large scale events like an interactive murder mystery dinner on a Friday night.  This on a campus where Friday’s could easily be the scene of an old town western with deserted roads and hallways, with faculty and staff watching tumbleweeds roll by.  These risks paid off though as the murder mystery sold out, as did a last minute Friday night Homecoming this past fall quarter, thanks to the energy and time put in by the dedicated student leaders on campus.

“I have had the opportunity to work with Jen through my position as an Orientation Leader and I have nothing but positive things to say about her. Jen has been more than willing to step in and help us with whatever we needed, no questions asked. I have been overwhelmed by her kindness as she continuously puts others before herself. Jen has a love for people and it clearly shows in her work. I admire Jen for her work ethic, positive attitude, and caring nature for others. Jen will be missed at UWB as it will not be the same without her. Jen, thank you for everything. I am honored to have been able to work with you. You will be missed.”—Christie Olsen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “You've been such a warm, positive presence in the office! Thank you for everything, including letting me share with you all the latest happenings in Silpion's life. We will miss you!”—Jenny O’Hare -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Thanks to Jen for coming to the OSL events, bringing her kiddos and hanging out! Jen is a true student advocate!”—Dana Shaphren

“Jen is an amazing person. With Jen leading the Office of Student Life, she's certainly left a great impact here at UWB. Thank you, Jen, for leading a great team that has made so many opportunities possible for the students at UWB. Because of these opportunities, college is starting to become everything I thought it would be and more. I only wish you the best in life. You will be missed!”—Aika Perez

“I like being proven wrong,” said Jen proudly.  “That homecoming dance this year, three weeks out, on a boat, on a Friday night… ok, but it might just be us on that boat, and they sold out!  I couldn’t have been happier to be proven wrong, that turned out to be a really exciting event.  That’s good learning as a student administrator, as much as I think I know what students want, I still have to trust that these students know what students want more than I do.  I like to think I’m hip, but…”

“Jen is very welcoming to all students and she always helped students to succeed. She will be missed greatly by the Office of Student Life and Campus Events Board!”—Quyen Nguyen

Outside of campus events and getting students involved, Jen might be most proud of her work helping to bring student housing to a campus that wasn’t even considering it when she came on board.

“Really it’s just the past year and a half that it’s come online.  You know those students are having an amazing experience over there, they like living on their own and still being close to campus, and we’re talking about tripling the number of beds next year.  In terms of making this feel like a full living learning environment, the housing piece needs to be there.”

“Jen is so much fun to work with! She makes coming to work much more fun! J Bye Jen we’ll miss you!”—Rabeka Randall

From helping to transform the school’s sponsored events from just a thing on campus, to THE thing on campus, and creating the first student housing; Jen has been a big reason the University of Washington Bothell now has the student life experience that it does.  Unfortunately for UW Bothell, the thing that brought Jen to Seattle is the same thing that is causing her to move back to the mid-west.  Her husband recently accepted a job in Illinois and her final day of work is upon us.

“I’m kind of jealous [of whoever takes her job], because there’s so much happening.  It makes me sad to leave when there’s so much going on.  The thing I’m most proud of is that we have a solid foundation in place, we have a student life and student activity program in place that really is a 4 year campuses’ student activities program.  Now it’s time for the next person to come in and innovate and grow it.”

“Jen, working with you the past 2 years has been a tremendous experience. From orientations to ultimate frisbee, and of course the newspaper, you’ve helped make a lot of things possible in my life and in others. Thank you for your dedication to students, and good luck in Chicago. One question: Cubs or White Sox?”—Sam Shupe

After her message for her eventual successor, Jen wanted to send out a message for all the UW Bothell students.

“Jen is not only my advisor, but someone I consider a mentor. I will always be grateful to her for everything she has done for me”—Xheni Diko ------------------------------------------------------ “Jen has been an amazing advisor to me over the past two years. From help with ASUWB and school to advice about life, she is always there to help. She has been a huge part of my life and I will forever remember her. Love you Jen!”—Amira Davis

“There are still so many opportunities for them to make this the campus they want it to be.  They are here at a time when the stars are aligned.  The campus is growing and we have an administration that is incredibly accepting of student ideas.  If there is something they want to see happen on this campus now is the time to do it.  Share it with other students and staff.  I’m really excited to see from afar what happens to this campus.  Students have such an opportunity to leave a legacy here that you don’t necessarily have at other campuses.”

As I was preparing to leave Jen’s office, I asked her if there was anything outside of UW Bothell that she was really going to miss as she headed back east.

“When I drive home on 405, right when I turn the curve right before the sign for I-5, there’s this row of pine trees I love to see, especially when the sun is setting, they are just so gorgeous, I just love looking at those pine trees… it’s the climate and the scenery, I’m going to miss hiking, the Midwest is just so flat… and here I’ve really grown attached to a lot of colleagues and a lot of students that I’m going to miss, going to miss quite a bit, thank goodness for Facebook right?”

Thank goodness indeed.

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