Dr. Deborah Below is the vice president for enrollment management and student success and the dean of students at Southeast Missouri State University. She manages the offices of Admissions, Career Linkages, New Student Programs, the Registrar, Residence Life and Recreation Services.
Below graduated from Southeast in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in mass communication and a Masters of Science in public administration. In 2004, she earned her Ph.D. in educational leadership and policy studies from the University of Missouri. After earning her undergraduate degree, she began her career as an admissions counselor for Southeast in the Office of Admissions. She continued on a path of higher education as she became the director of Residence Life at Southeast, the director of Admissions and Financial Aid at Jefferson College in Hillsboro, Missouri, and since her return to Southeast, she has served as the director of admissions, and her current role as the associate vice president for enrollment management.
As an alumnae of Southeast Missouri State University, what made you want to begin your professional career at the college you graduated from?
As I was preparing to graduate from Southeast, I have to honestly say that at that time I wasn't focused on continuing my career at Southeast. When you're a young person graduating from college you're looking for that first door that opens, so if I can start by saying that, because as students are preparing to graduate I want them to read this, I want them to understand that they should have multiple paths that they might be choosing to pursue, but when this one came up, yes that was of great interest to me. At the time, the university was expanding their recruitment efforts and they decided to increase the number of staff members in the Office of Admissions so that they could do more outreach within the region as well as in St. Louis and other new markets, so that was very exciting. My background was in public relations and I had a wonderful undergraduate experience at Southeast, so it seemed to be a great fit. It was something I enjoyed talking about, I could stand behind the education that Southeast offers, and obviously it's turned into a very successful career.
Why did you decide to pursue a career in higher education?
To a certain extent I was interested in a career in higher education. You have to listen to those around you -- your faculty, employers, the Career Services staff -- and I was taking guidance from many people in my junior and senior year of college. I had some initial mock interviews with Career Services, that's something we still offer today and found that to be extremely valuable because I met with some companies, one in particular who said, "You're going to be good at something, but selling for this for-profit environment doesn't necessarily seem to fit what your career interests are." And when you're young you don't necessarily know what that means, and now I very much understand what that means. I have a true passion for seeing students succeed, so when I have a chance to help get a student connected to a quality academic program at Southeast and watch it change their life, that is what inspires me to do a better job day after day.
How would you define a great leader?
A great leader inspires everyone around them to find greatness within themselves. By that I mean when you are entrusted with the title of manager, leader, director, whatever that title is, that includes our undergraduate students who are entrusted with titles within their student organizations, you then have a responsibility to the members or the staff that you supervise or mentor, you become great when that organization is great and sustainable.
Who inspires you and why?
I know that this might sound cliché, but I can tell you unequivocally and honestly it's our students who inspire me, and that is because while there are probably a few students who are here for the wrong reasons, I'd like to believe that 99 percent of our students are here for the right reasons. They are very focused on their future, they're likely to make some mistakes, all of us are, but I am very inspired when they hold me and my colleagues here at the university accountable, when they give us new ideas, and the university grows and prospers every single time a student asks a good question of us and collaborates with us to make the univeristy better, and I just find that inspirational. And Southeast is a university with a strong shared governance structure, so that means our faculty, our staff, our administration our community, all of us have a voice in the university's day-to-day management and decision-making process, and it's actually part of the Student Rights and Responsibilities listed in our Code of Conduct. You won't find that in all student codes, and that is something that inspires me to do good work on behalf of the university.
What do you do to develop and grow your own leadership?
I continue to develop my leadership style and strengths by seeking additional professional development -- that's very important -- by always believing that input and guidance from others will help me grow, so I ask a lot of questions and that does help me develop. I try to stay in tune to research. I don't necessarily publish, but I spend quite a bit of time researching the facts behind certain trends in higher education, and I present. I do attend professional conferences on a regular basis and try to share information about what we are doing here at the university. So constantly becoming more familiar with the content of all of the aspects of higher education is very important.
What advice do you have for students who want to become leaders on campus or in the community?
Work hard, be fair, be ethical, network. All of those are equally important. Believe in yourself, and that's not always easy for all of us to do. And when I say that I mean that when you're a developing student, you probably are capable of more than you think you're capable of. When I look out I see nothing but leaders, but I know that, having been 18 at a different point in my life, that you also aren't sure whether or not you have that skill. Usually if you are willing to take the step just one time, you'll find out that if you can speak with credibility and treat others with respect you will in turn be respected, and you'll find that leadership opportunities will continue to find their way to you.
Why should students begin pursuing leadership roles during their collegiate careers?
This a training ground for life post-college. I find day-to-day work to be similar to my experience as an undergraduate at Southeast and maybe that is just the nature of this university, our classes are small so our students get lots of opportunities to work in group project settings, and I enjoy talking to some of our student groups about group projects. I ask them, "What do you like or what do you dislike about being a college student?" And there are times where they'll say group projects because they can't rely on others, or I end up doing something I don't want to do, but I enjoy telling students that being able to work well in a small group setting is a key to success in probably most career fields. So I found that the undergraduate experience not only outside of the classroom, but inside of the classroom, to be a great training ground for leadership.
What has been your most rewarding or favorite leadership position (personal or professional)?
If it can be personal then it is definitely being a parent. It is an absolute joy to be a parent. I am a parent of a college student and that has certainly helped me understand, and I can see things from their perspective probably better today having had that opportunity. Aside from being a parent, professionally the thing I may be most proud of is my current work as the dean of students for the university. This is a large university, and I enjoy the opportunity to interact on a daily basis with student leaders. I think something I didn't expect to learn in this role is that a strong sign of positive leadership is the ability to reach out to all of your constituents. And on any given day there is usually a student that I have a chance to interact with who's trying to find their way through the university, in one way or another, and they aren't necessarily the students we always see who are getting recognized for things, but it is exciting for me to get the chance to interact with them on a daily basis. I love watching a student, no matter what their background is, take full advantage of the opportunities provided in a higher education setting and see just how far some of them go.
