By: Dayna Wilmoth
9/26/2007

Jaclyn Hugg has a lot on her plate. She works with international students and oversees community service, disability services and diversity programming.

She advises the Multicultural Student Assembly and the Falcon Activities and Campus Events (FACE) Diversity Committee. She has advised the Student Government Association and has overseen other campus clubs and organizations.

She is also starting a few programs this year, such as Falcon VIP and an Alternative Spring Break trip. With all of these responsibilities, some might be surprised that Hugg is a fairly recent college graduate.

She graduated in May 2005 from Buena Vista University in Storm Lake, Iowa, with a degree in Spanish and Leadership Communication. After graduation she began looking for job opportunities in higher education and stumbled across a job opportunity at Friends on the last day the University was accepting applications.

“I had this gut feeling that I should go for it, and I did,” Hugg said.
The scramble to get her resume, cover letter and reference list submitted in time paid off. She got the job. She packed up her belongings, jumped into her car and headed to Wichita before she even had an apartment lined up.

When she started in November 2005, she was hired as the coordinator of programming and leadership in the now nonexistent Center for Student Success. Since January 2007, her title has changed to director of cross cultural programs and services within the reorganized Student Affairs.

When her title changed, some of her responsibilities changed, too. She said that she likes the change, because now she can focus on projects that are closer to her heart.

“My first love is community service and service learning, so to have the opportunity to essentially create programs from scratch excites me,” she said. “I’m especially pumped up about the Friends University Alternative Spring Break trip to San Francisco, California, that we are starting this year.”

There will be 10 spots for students on the trip, and those 10 students will be chosen only after an application and interview process. During spring break, the students will volunteer at the Glide Memorial. If that sounds familiar, do not be surprised. The Glide Memorial is the church and shelter in “The Pursuit of Happyness” that Chris Gardner and his son also stayed at in real life. 

Another new program that Hugg has started this year is the Falcon Volunteer Incentive Program (VIP). Students can contact her to sign up, and after doing so they can keep track of their volunteer hours, receiving prizes for so many hours logged. Hugg said that while the prizes are a nice incentive, the program is really a way for volunteers to track their volunteer service.

“It’s a good way to reflect on their experiences,” she said. “They are making a difference and we appreciate their work.”

There have been 54 people to sign up so far. Hugg is thrilled with this and hopes that more people will become aware of volunteer opportunities on campus and in the community.

Hugg is excited about her future at Friends, and she is excited to see programs like Falcon VIP grow. Someday she would like to get her master's degree, but in what she does not know. She tackles her work one day at a time, often working past midnight. She laughs and says that students will see her on campus later and later, and ask her what she is still doing here. She enjoys her job that much.

“I think the most rewarding part of my job is to see students grow during their college experience,” Hugg said. “College was such a transformational experience for me, so it’s neat to see that happen with students here as well.”

When she is not on campus until midnight or later, she enjoys hanging out with friends. For fun, she has taken a glassblowing class at CityArts. She also teaches Turbo Kick, Group Power and Cardio Express, all fitness classes offered at Genesis Health Clubs.

“I basically got into this through my background of Tae Kwon Do, cheerleading and theater,” she said. “It all kind of meshes together when I teach group fitness classes.”

Back on campus, she also enjoys playing in Falcon Intramurals, of which she says, “Go staff team!”        

Hugg is enthusiastic about her work and activities at Friends University, and that enthusiasm is contagious. FACE president and Friends student David Farinola said, “Jaclyn strives for excellence in whatever life brings her. She is hard-working, yet always finds the time for student interaction.”

Hugg said that she enjoys experiencing life alongside students.

“It is evident she cares deeply for the students of Friends University,” Farinola said. “Jaclyn also carries with her a continual positive attitude.”