SPRINGFIELD — Marie Robert enjoyed the time she spent in student organizations so much that she made a career out of it.
The new student engagement coordinator, Robert said she enjoys helping students enjoy their time in college and to get the most out of the experience.
Robert replaced Michelle Burger, who is still at Lincoln Land as a career development specialist in counseling and advising.
Robert graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she received a bachelor’s degree in political science and a master’s degree in higher education administration.
After 2014 graduation, Robert packed up her 10-year-old Boston terrier and moved to Springfield to be with her soon-to-be husband, Dominic Watson.
She started at Lincoln Land that year, helping with student orientation, but when the opportunity as student engagement coordinator in student life came up, she knew it was a perfect fit.
As the student engagement coordinator, she is a face of many student events because she coordinates smaller, weekly events on campus and larger ones, such as the New Student Luncheon, Loggerpalooza, Multicultural Festival and homecoming. She also advises the Student Government Association.
“My relationship with you guys is really more of a resources, but it really depends on what you’re looking for,” Robert said. “I can be a mentor, counselor or just a connection. It all depends on the relationship I have with the student.”
Not having attended a community college, she found the atmosphere of students commuting from a variety of hometowns to be a change. One thing she hopes to improve is student feeling more connected to the college. Seeing it as more than just coming to class and going home.
She hopes students enjoy the experience more and not just see it as a buffer period between high school and transferring to another school or entering the work force, Robert said.
Student life coordinates a lot of events on campus, and she hopes it can forge relationships with the community, too.
“I love my job because there is always something to do,” Robert said. “I never get a break, and that’s good for me because the second I start relaxing, my brain shuts down. I get to be hands on and active all of the time, and that’s perfect for me.”
Robert was born in Brockton, Massachusetts, and was the middle child, with two older and two younger siblings.
“I don’t consider our family a big family, but when we are together, it seems like there’s 10 of us,” Robert said.
Robert described her family as a very close-knit one, but added, with a big smile, that she’s definitely a “daddy’s girl.”
Robert will have a little bit larger family — and a new name on Sept. 26 — when she marries her fiance. She met Watson at the presidential inauguration in Washington, D.C.
By Leanna Churchill
and T’Ericka Stelivan
Staff Writers
Leanna Churchill and T’Ericka Stelivan can be reached at [email protected].