Dana Scott/Winonan
Junior Holly Loberg, who is studying communication studies with an emphasis in leadership and a minor in philosophy and CAST, holds four positions at Winona State University in addition to her other schoolwork: national communications coordinator, housing tour guide, desk assistant, and “of-the-month” coordinator for the national residence hall honorary.
Loberg was active in many organizations in high school, and she knew she wanted to get involved when she came to Winona State. During her first year she got involved with the Residence Hall Association (RHA) by being the Vice President of the Maria hall council.
“Hall council started it all for me,” Loberg said. “If it wasn’t for hall council, I don’t know where I would be right now.”
Loberg also advises those who want to get involved to join hall council. She also suggests looking into clubs or talking to people about one’s interests.
“The easiest way to get involved is to put yourself out there,” Loberg said.
Loberg originally wanted to go to a small private university, however, her mother influenced her to tour Winona State.
“This is it,” Loberg recalled thinking when she toured west campus.
With her communication studies degree, Loberg hopes to go into student affairs after graduation. Loberg said she would like to work with first generation college students as an admissions counselor, or for a program similar to the TRIO program on Winona State’s campus.
“Because I’m a first generation college student, I had no idea what I was doing,” Loberg said. “I want to be that contact for someone else and [be able to] help them understand.”
One of Loberg’s jobs on campus is the national communications coordinator for the university. For this she organizes all the conferences the university attends, such as the Midwest Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (MACURH) and the National Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (NACURH).
“We don’t have dorms at WSU,” Loberg said. “Because when you think of a dorm you think of a square box that you live in. In a residence hall you have experiences and connections with people, and it’s more than just a place to live.”
Loberg shared that attending these conferences has been her favorite aspect of being involved on campus.
“I absolutely love getting to know people,” Loberg expressed. “I know people from Mexico, South Africa and Kansas, and people involved in housing and residence life.”
Loberg is also the “of-the-month” (OTM) coordinator for National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH). For this job, Loberg encourages people on campus to write OTMs and also collaborates to decide which OTMs win in the Midwest region.
An OTM is a two hundred to six hundred word description to show appreciation for someone who has made an impact on Winona State’s campus. Those being recognized can range from resident assistants, general maintenance workers or professors.
Loberg said Winona State ranks sixteenth in the nation for writing the most OTMs.
Additionally, Loberg has been a front desk assistant for Maria Hall since her first year at Winona State. She returns to this position because her boss, hall director, Ann Durley, makes the job fun and Loberg “loves working with her.”
Lastly, Loberg is on her second year of being a housing tour guide, giving tours to perspective students of the residence halls on campus.
Loberg gave an example of her impact on campus. A male student who currently lives in Maria Hall was influenced by a tour of the residence halls Loberg led. Loberg shared whenever he (the student) sees her sitting at the front desk, he points out to his friends that Loberg was the one who gave him his tour of the residence halls, and he wanted to live in Maria Hall because of the way Loberg portrayed the building on the tour.
Loberg shared how she manages her obligations on campus and being a student. She explained she is a very organized person with a color-coordinated calendar, she sets time to work on things, avoids procrastination, keeps track of when everything is due and ensures that she gets nine hours of sleep each night.
In her free time, Loberg engages in stress-relief activities. She has stress relieving coloring books and also enjoys hanging out with her roommates.
Loberg expressed she has benefited most from working with professional staff while getting involved on campus. She knows how to work with people from other generations, which she said will be a good skill to have when looking for jobs.
Loberg said most of her friends are also involved on campus. Therefore, her work includes getting to spend time with her friends.
