RACHEL JOHNSON
Staff Writer
With recruiment underway and the fall semester still unfolding, Greeks on campus have a new man upstairs to get familiar with.
After many weeks of dissecting applications and conducting interviews, the administration appointed Jake Gross to the position of Student Organization coordinator. His job will include overseeing Greek activities and Inter-Club Council, as well as other student-driven organization on campus.
Gross, 27, attended Auburn University in Auburn, Ala. He worked as a graduate assistant at Auburn in Greek life while taking classes to earn his Master’s in higher education administration.
Upon the completion of his assistantship, he was hired as the full-time assistant director for Greek life at Auburn.
According to Gross, nearly 6,000 students are involved in the 51 Greek organizations at Auburn, creating a need for full-time staff to focus solely on fraternity and sorority life. Gross became a core member of a group of employees whose jobs were to organize and implement Greek events. His main duties involved communicating with members of Auburn’s Inter-Fraternity Council as well as overseeing fraternity activities on campus.
Though he said his job at Auburn was fulfilling, Gross said he had always wanted to work at Pepperdine. He sought change from Auburn, a large state school of almost 25,000 students.
“I wanted to gain experience outside of my comfort zone,” Gross said.
When Gross learned of the job opening at Pepperdine, he applied for the position. A two-month interviewing process followed, including a phone interview and a two-day on-site interview at Pepperdine. After a period of administrative analysis and discussion concluded, Gross was offered the job.
Gross spent the summer transitioning into his new position. As the Student Organizations Coordinator, Gross is the main contact for members of the Greek community and participants of the Inter-Club Council. Specifically, he works with Panhellenic and Inter-Fraternity Council members as well as ICC Executive Board members and presidents to discuss campus events and equip the students as leaders. While he serves primarily as an adviser to Greek groups and ICC organizations, one of his goals is to be available for all students on campus.
“I am excited to continue learning about the Pepperdine culture and interacting with the students to see how my talents and experiences can combine with theirs to produce success,” Gross said.
Responses so far are indicative of a smooth segue.
“I think Jake has made a positive transition into the Pepperdine community because he has done his best to get to know Greek life here, which takes a lot of effort because it’s very different than where he came from,” said Lani Camacho, a senior member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and a student worker for Gross’s office.
Senior John Deniston, president of the ICC E-Board, noted that Gross has played an instrumental role in the development of the organization as it is undergoing important transformation.
“Jake is a tremendous asset to our group,” Deniston said. “He is a joy to work with because he is generous with his time, flexible with his hours and passionate about students. I can’t imagine doing my job without him.”
A concern for Gross as he began his job training was that he would be compared to his predecessor. Yet once he got to Pepperdine, Gross found that Van Velzer helped make the change smooth.
“Chris transitioned me so well and taught me so much,” Gross said. “I felt really supported by him and everyone else in the office.”
Dustin Vyers, Student Activities coordinator, echoes this sentiment. Like Gross, Vyers is a new Pepperdine employee and had to undergo much change to acclimate to his new surroundings. He not only appreciates Gross’s work because of his leadership capabilities but because they share mutual excitement for their new careers as well.
“We are in the same boat,” Vyers said. “We benefit because we are new people working as a team as opposed to coming into a team that’s already been established.”
Outside of the office, Gross and his wife, Emily, enjoy exploring their new surroundings. In addition to watching college football and traveling, they have spent their free time in Malibu outdoors.
“We’ve become beach people since we’ve been here,” Gross said.
From Alabama to California and Auburn to Pepperdine, Gross has had his share of change in the past year. But with activities to plan, schedules to coordinate and groups to oversee, there’s little time to focus on the transition without losing forward motion.
09-21-2006