While students were away for spring break, Sarah Toby joined the Kenyon community as the new director of Student Engagement on March 3. The change comes following the departure of previous Director of Student Engagement Caleb Young in October. On Tuesday afternoon, among several potted plants and fidget toys, Toby welcomed the Collegian to her Gund Commons office to discuss her plans and aspirations for her new role.
The following interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Anna Sugg (AS): So my first question for you is, why did you decide to join the Kenyon community?
Toby: I have been in higher education since 2014, so quite a long time, and I had been working previously at The College of Wooster in student engagement as an assistant director, and I’d been there for seven years. And it kind of just felt like time for me. I kind of plateaued. I really wasn’t feeling challenged by the work that I was doing — not that I didn’t love the experiences I was creating for students there — but really looking to grow more as a professional and take on more responsibility, and that next step was to look for more elevated roles. And seeing the job posting at Kenyon, it was a pretty natural next step, and seeing that as being a really great opportunity for that growth that I was craving.
AS: What are some of the goals that you have for your time here at Kenyon?
Toby: I feel like for any kind of student engagement higher education professional, especially in this area of work, one of our big goals is to be able to create experiences for students, find opportunities for them to really find belonging and community, and being able to create those core memories for students that happen outside of the classroom.
If you look at a student’s week and the amount of time they’re spending in class, it’s maybe 16, 18 hours. So you take that amount of time. You take the time that they’re sleeping. We take maybe meals. There’s a hundred and so hours that are still left in a week that a student is trying to fill with either studying or hanging out with friends, social experiences [and] student organizations. And so the work that student engagement does is making sure we can really foster that community for students and create those experiences that enhance your college experience. That is a thing for me, no matter what college you’re at, [which] is a goal.
AS: What can students expect from your leadership style?
Toby: I am someone who, especially as a director, I want to still seem really approachable to students. For me as a leader, it’s going into the spaces that students are already at, so that could be going to campus events, going to meetings, meeting student org leaders in more casual spaces like the dining hall. Sometimes I feel like when you have a position, it’s got this title “director” on it, it creates this barrier between students to where either they’re nervous to come talk to you because of your title and there’s just a power imbalance. So for me, it’s kind of trying to come down to meet students where they’re at, but also find ways to get them to know me, that way I’m not just the name on the email, or the person maybe sending them a message of “Hey, you need to turn this in or get this done.” I really want them to know the person behind that. Because for me, relationships matter, trust really matters. And the opportunities that I can really seize to show students that they can communicate with me, they can trust me, they can come to me when they need extra support are really the areas that I’m looking at.
AS: What are you most looking forward to during your time here?
Toby: Oh, that’s such a good question. I’d say the thing I’m most looking forward to right now is the fall and that energy that’s kind of there — new students coming to campus, everybody’s back, and the anticipation of another year. Fall for me, especially those first two months, are so fun. It’s a great time where new students are figuring out where their community is and who their friends are going to be. Returning students are excited to all come back together again. The energy is really good on campus.
If I could see the future and be able to see what [the Office of Student Engagement] looks like in the next five years, I just really hope the energy that our team has right now, energy for possibilities and really great change for students and making some of the things with our office more accessible for students, remains. That’s the stuff I’m really excited about, what it’ll look like transitioning year to year.
AS: Okay, now time for some fun questions. First rapid fire question, favorite food?
Toby: Oh, I don’t have a favorite food. Because I would say my favorite thing about food is trying new foods.
AS: A valid answer. You haven’t been on campus long, but what is a spot on campus that you really love?
Toby: I would say I haven’t found it yet, but I’m a big outside person, and so I know this summer, I’m gonna probably explore and find a spot to eat my lunch outside.
AS: Dogs or cats?
Toby: I have a black Labrador Retriever. Her name is Mango, and she is the sweetest girl. Hopefully, some day I’ll be able to bring her to campus, because she loves people.
AS: You have a lot of plants in your office. Which is your favorite?
Toby: I really love my jade plant. It is an old plant that was passed down to me, and so I’m pretty sure it’s about 30 years old.