Have you met Norma Rodenburg, the Assistant Registrar, Student Connect? Spend the next 2 minutes getting to know her a little better.
Where is your favourite place on campus?
You know, I really like sitting in Celebration Plaza, out here. The sun is warm because it’s south facing, so it always seems warmer there than it does anywhere else. And, I like that little bench area.
Tablet or paper?
Tablet.
Name one thing you’ve brought to work from home.
A picture of my daughter.
What is the one thing you can’t live without?
Coffee. Only two cups a day — but I need my two cups a day.
If you won airfare to anywhere in the world, where would you go?
[Thoughtful pause.] Italy. Hands down, Italy. I don’t know why I hesitated on that. I would eat and drink my way through Italy — like wine tasting and I would learn to cook real authentic Italian food.
You can invite anyone — alive or dead, real or fictional — to dinner. Who would it be?
I really think it would be Barak Obama, because I really just want to see if what I see on TV is what he’s actually like in person. I’d like to see if that’s genuine — I think it is — but I would want to just confirm that. He just fascinates me. I’m not that interested in American politics, but he fascinates me as a person, and I want to see if it’s an act or not.
If you could switch jobs with someone else on campus for a week, what would you do?
I think I would like to switch jobs with somebody who works in a coffee shop on campus. I think it would be cool to just interact with people every day, and to talk to students, and get to know your customers and get to know the staff, and to really get to connect with people on that human level.
Image courtesy of tumblr
[Interviewer: Which one?]
I know, right? Isn’t that a tough choice? It is tough, but I’m going to say the Starbucks in CAB/Cameron. I think it’s so central and you would get to see a mix of university staff and students. And you get the opportunity to maybe make somebody’s day a little better than it was before. My goal would be to spell everybody’s name right! No — I would do quotes instead — inspirational quotes on the coffee cup.
What does “uplifting the whole people” mean to you?
I think it means, helping people to be the best that they can be, whatever that looks like to them, because their definition might not be my definition. But understanding what is that others in our community need and want and what their strengths are and how we can work together as a community to support each other in being our best, at whatever that is, which is different for everybody. So, it’s a caring community that’s really strengths based. It’s helping people.
If you could solve any problem in the world, what would it be?
The two that come to mind, and I guess they go hand in hand, would be poverty and homelessness. I kind of go between the two, but I think a home is really important. If somebody has a home and a roof over their head and a place to be comfortable, then they can start to improve other areas. So, I would say homelessness first. But I’d tie it into poverty and food insecurity. I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have enough to eat or to not have a home to go back to, so that would be what I would want to help with.
What 3 words best describe your U of A experience?
Inspiring. Challenging. Energizing.
About Norma
Norma Rodenburg is the U of A’s Assistant Registrar, Student Connect. In her current role, she oversees the RO’s recruitment teams, Student Connect services, Campus Ambassadors program, and Open House. As one of the U of A’s leading student affairs professionals, Norma has also served as the Student Affairs Officer in the Office of the Dean of Students after beginning her career with the University of Alberta Students’ Union, where she worked in a variety of capacities related to student services and development. During her undergraduate career at the U of A, Norma served as a student leader in numerous capacities including working with the students’ Union, the Orientation program, Campus Recreation and Residence Services. Norma holds a Masters of Arts in Leadership from Royal Roads University and has a passion for developing student leaders.