University of Jamestown employees focus on students' experience

Editor's note: This story is advertorial content as part of the 2023 Jamestown Sun Progress Edition on "Business, Workforce, Retention."

JAMESTOWN — Three University of Jamestown employees are key to students’ experience on campus, said Dustin Jensen, dean of students/vice president for student affairs. They are Ryder Weischedel, Gabe Martinez and Sara Robinson.

Weischedel is the director of strength, conditioning and campus wellness. Also on his staff are assistant director Emily Sosa and graduate assistant Tayler Cullen.

“We write comprehensive athletic performance programs for all the (600-plus) student-athletes on campus so they have training basically year-round that they follow …,” Weischedel said.

The training is not only to enhance athletic performance but to reduce the risk of injury by being stronger, more powerful athletes, Weischedel said.

The university also offers exercise classes to students, faculty and staff, he said, primarily contracting with Two Rivers Activity Center and other businesses to help provide them.

“A majority of our clientele, obviously, are student-athletes, that makes up the majority of our campus,” Weischedel said, “but just keeping everyone fit and healthy on campus is not only good physically but mentally as well.”

Martinez, director of residence life and public safety, oversees about 35 undergraduate and six professional staff. He noted 85% of students live on campus, and there are nine residence halls including apartment buildings.

Contributed / University of Jamestown

“What it really comes down to is education and outreach,” Martinez said. “Not only in residence life, how do we get our students to learn, to live, to grow and to develop but also on the public safety side, what education outreach do we put out to ensure that students can stay informed about their personal safety and can make choices about how to stay safe for them.”

Martinez said he’s focusing on how to bring UJ’s mission, values and education plan into the residence halls, preparing them for living outside of the university setting while they are on campus. That education comes through trained resident assistants, he said.

Contributed / University of Jamestown

Robinson began working at UJ in 2020, initially on UJ’s response to the coronavirus pandemic including as a consultant for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics to oversee its protocols for national championships.

“It was such a privilege to be part of something bigger than just UJ, to be able to have an impact on students across the nation,” she said.

Now, as director of student engagement, she collaborates with a team of students to bring opportunities to Jamestown for students that they wouldn’t have otherwise, such as entertainment and planning ways for them to engage and make connections on campus.

Robinson also oversees UJ’s mental health and counseling center.

“UJ is really a place that we care about our students and that is always at the heart of what we do,” she said. “Every decision that we make as a team, everything that kind of comes down the line, every conflict that we’re faced with, our team of student affairs – our number one question that we always fall back to is what is best for students.”