"I push the premise that academics are first and foremost, but to get a true understanding of campus life, students need to get involved."

-Fatima deCarvalho

For most students, Friday at Montclair State traditionally has been the time to abandon campus and head for home. But Fatima deCarvalho, the new director of Student Activities, wants to redirect the flow of outgoing traffic back to campus on the weekends.

When deCarvalho came to Montclair State in December, she brought with her 10 years of experience directing student development and activities at New School University in Manhattan and the State University of New York-New Paltz. She prefers the term "co-curricular" to "extra-curricular" activities because she firmly believes that academics and student activities go hand-in-hand in providing students with the optimum college experience.

DeCarvalho said getting departments to work jointly with Student Activities is the only way to create opportunities, and she's exploring ways to tap into the academic departments to enhance the students' experience at Montclair State.

Q. How does getting involved in co-curricular activities benefit our students?
A. Co-curricular activities enhance their academics and make them more viable in the working world by increasing communication, interpersonal and organizational skills. Co-curricular activities also give students a better understanding of group dynamics and offer leadership opportunities. I push the premise that academics are first and foremost, but to get a true understanding of campus life, students need to get involved.

Q. What is your role in getting students involved?
A. Student Activities gives students the opportunity to pick and choose. They can get involved in organizations, athletics or student government, or they can become RAs (resident assistants) or OWLs (Orientation Workshop Leaders). I'd like to enhance those opportunities and get more of our commuter population involved by working more closely with Residence Life to tie in residential programs with other programs. I also need to develop a strong relationship with the SGA, the voice of our students.

In addition, I want to change the culture here, where our students go away on the weekends. Where I come from, most of the major programs happen on the weekends, and people stay.

Q. How will you enhance co-curricular opportunities?
A. I want to foster better collaboration between faculty and students. When professors take a vested interest in their students outside the classroom, that leads to an enhanced student-faculty relationship most students carry with them after they graduate. I've come to realize that active students who have a positive experience during their college years are the ones who contribute as alumni. We play an important part in getting them to that point by getting them involved while they're here.

Q. In what ways can you further involve faculty in student activities?
A. By first asking student organizations to be conscious of the professors on campus whom they would like to see involved. Sometimes professors don't realize the impact they have on their students. When students start naming names, I'll inform those professors that the students have been asking for them. I'm aware and respect that our faculty members carry a lot on their plates, and I don't want to overburden them. There also may be some professors who don't know how to get involved but want to. I'll let them know I'm here and I'll find the avenues for them to get involved.

Q. How do you plan to get our commuter student population active outside the classroom?
A. The number of adult learners coming back to college has increased, not only at Montclair State but all over, and getting involved outside the classroom is not a priority. I want to find things that pique their interest, such as programs that are more academically oriented and that are related to their field. But I first need to become aware of some other issues. For instance, it's not always feasible for a student with a family to come back at night, so we may have to run certain programs twice to attract both the earlier and later crowds. I don't have all the answers as to why commuter students are not involved, so I have to listen to them.

Q. Can you identify some of the areas in Student Activities that you hope to strengthen?
A. From a budget standpoint, this department relies on student organizations to do the programming. That requires me to be creative in how to subsidize and get co-sponsorship to make certain things happen. The students have some wonderful ideas but they don't always know how to implement them. I want to establish this office as a resource center for students, and I'm working on a resource book that outlines procedures. Also, we tend to have student leaders who don't adequately train those coming up behind them. In addition to running a student organization, it is the student leaders' responsibility to teach, so I need to teach them how to teach.

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