Stephen Burrell, director of Residence Life. Photo by Olivia Westcott.
Stephen and Amy Burrell joined the university staff within the past month. Stephen is the new director of Residence Life while Amy works in the office of Adult and Graduate Studies as an enrollment counselor for education graduate programs and transfer enrollment.
It is not unheard of for married couples to be employed by the university at the same time.
Amy Burrell, enrollment counselor for education graduate programs and transfer enrollment. Photo by Olivia Westcott.
Stephen and Amy have both had experience with college-aged students prior to being at Bluffton. Amy had been an admissions counselor at North Carolina Wesleyan College for the past two years before moving to Bluffton. Stephen has had experience in residence life at Albion College in Michigan, Wittenberg University in Ohio, Virginia Tech in Virginia, Duke University and North Carolina Wesleyan College.
Stephen graduated from Florida State University and was initially working with residence life. Becoming unsure if residence life was the path he wanted to take, Stephen moved to conference services. He ended up missing the students and eventually went to advising and working with student organizations, he said.
“I really enjoyed being on a small private liberal arts institution campus, working with students and watching them develop over time,” said Stephen.
Stephen has been here for almost a month while Amy has been here since this past week.
Both of the Burrells have spent their time learning the different processes for each of their jobs as well as getting to know those around them.
“I think right now is learning the processes of admitting transferring graduate students and just learning to attract students to Bluffton,” said Amy when describing what’s been the most challenging part of her new work. “I want to be a good representative for the school.”
Stephen and Amy agree they have a lot to learn regarding their jobs.
Stephen came to Bluffton after the residence life had their training and the students had moved onto campus. This was intentional because he had to train and get the new staff at North Carolina Wesleyan College set for his departure after being there for five years. He said that coming into a new environment like this is making Stephen listen and learn at a fast pace in order to properly serve students on Bluffton’s campus.
“There have been moments when it is overwhelming, but there is an excitement about what is going on,” said Stephen. “I am honestly excited about the Residence Life staff that is already in place. What is already going for the students. I don’t feel there are things that I have to come in and immediately have to try to fix. I am confident in what I bring to the role, but the reality is, I wasn’t brought here to fix anything. I wasn’t brought here to redirect or ‘set things right’. There are good things here, I’m brought here to take it to the next level.”
Stephen and Amy said they are excited to be a part of students’ experiences and having the chance to watch students grow and see where they go after their college experience. They both hope to be positive influences and enable students to learn necessary life skills while they are pursuing their degree.
