On-Site Training at St. John’s University

March 25 2009, 2:13pm

Last week, Eric and I (Jami Darden) traveled to the great state of New York to visit one of our newest clients, St. John’s University in Jamaica, Queens. St. John’s boasts an undergraduate population of nearly 15,000 students from 42 states, Puerto Rico, District of Columbia, U.S. Virgin Islands and 91 foreign countries. Among its notable alumni are leaders in virtually every industry, including business, medicine, politics, education, professional athletics, journalism, and entertainment. Needless to say, we are delighted to welcome this distinguished institution to the OrgSync family! Jami training student leadersMany thanks go out to everyone on campus who not only worked tirelessly over the last several months to make OrgSync a reality for St. John’s student organizations, but also for their efforts arranging the on-site training sessions. We want to especially thank Dana Lezama, president of Student Government, Inc., who spear-headed this effort and was an exceptional host! Also, Frank Jerome, Business Analyst for the Office of Student Affairs, who is working with OrgSync support to create a single sign on solution which will make it convenient for St. John’s students to access OrgSync and their student organizations via “St. John’s Central”.
During our two-day visit, Eric and I conducted 12, 90 minute training sessions where we were able to meet with approximately 140 student leaders. We were also thrilled to share the news of our new strategic partnership with PayPal and are looking forward to providing a comprehensive budgeting and e-commerce solution to all of our clients. Eric was even able to meet with Barbara Duffy who manages all of the budget requests and fund allocations for student organizations at St. John’s, and she has provided us with lots of insight that will help guide the development of our new, more robust treasury module.
We were also very pleased to learn that all student organizations at St. John’s are required to complete a certain number of community service hours in order to be recognized on campus and receive funding from the university. It was quite rewarding to see students’ reactions as we showed them how OrgSync can be used to track their involvement in service events and programs. Their reporting process will now be streamlined and simplified! I definitely saw a sparkle in their eye as they realized that they finally have a way to quantify how their organizations are contributing to the culture of their campus and the surrounding community. We at OrgSync, of course, share their commitment to community service and service learning and will continue to work with our clients to showcase these types of efforts. Stay tuned to future blog posts and check back on our website to learn more about the “GIVE Act” recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives. Coming from a higher education background, I truly enjoyed interacting with all of the students and staff members at St. John’s. Their energy and commitment to a vibrant campus life is very refreshing and has reminded me of why I got into the business of working with student leaders. I can’t wait for our next on-site training. After a snowy Friday morning in New York, however, I was pleased to return to sunny skies and mid-eighty temperatures in Texas!

Share This: