Cronkite prioritizes quality of student life

Kelley Cronkite, Student Life coordinator,  joined the college on Nov. 12 with a sincere desire to help students in a variety of situations. 

One of her goals here is to make students aware of domestic and sexual abuse by posting information in bathrooms and bulletin boards on how to seek help and available resources. 

Having come from Marquette University and Michigan State before that, she worked as a residence hall director working on-call with students in emergency or crisis situations. Cronkite has heard conduct violations that ranged from low-level violations to suspension-level violations. 

Currently, Cronkite receives students who have violated the Code of Conduct and seeks "not to punish them but to educate them to be a better contributing citizen."

You may see her when you get your U-pass updated for the new semester. Students may have noticed that it expires before classes are done, but "don't worry about the expiration date of the pass, it will be good till the day after the last classes of the semester," said Cronkite. 

Cronkite created an incentive program to get students familiar with the MyMATC portal which was launched in October. There is no longer a need for numerous passwords to access different areas. 

Through the portal, INFOnline, Blackboard and Gmail can all be accessed with one password along with information on events and announcements.  

When it is accessed, the words "Stormer deals" with a picture of a lightning bolt will randomly appear in different areas of the portal. These "deals" could be prizes, discounts in the bookstore, coupons or giveaways. 

One of the many hats she wears is being an advisor for Student Government at the Downtown Milwaukee campus, and the District Student Senate, which involves all four campuses. 

Cronkite also assists students through a new housing program that UWM and MATC have made available on a limited basis. Cronkite states, "I am happy to meet students outside of my normal office hours, if necessary.... I would not be here if I didn't care about the students."

We welcome  Cronkite to our college and hope that the students will drop in to say, "Hi." Student Life hours are Monday through Friday, Room S303, 7:45 a.m. - 4:15 p.m., and she can be reached at cronkitk@matc.edu.