Name: Heather Cohen
Title: Assistant Director of Student Conduct
Department: Student Conduct
Where are you from? Columbus, Ohio
What brought you to Student Affairs? College has always been the place where I saw myself from the time I saw a gorgeous Seventeen magazine spread on University of Virginia. In high school I used to help other students explore which small liberal arts school they might want to apply for.
Once at Ohio University, following a one year stint in the Americorps program City Year, I fell in love. I got involved in a number of organizations, but was most active in Student Senate and my sorority, AOII. I was most passionate about improving students live on campus, whether through connecting them to resources, getting the President to commit programming dollars, or working to get a new student center built.
How many years have you worked in Student Affairs at Northwestern? 1
What’s your favorite part about working in Student Affairs? Student Conduct is a space where we get to meet students, who are often in a vulnerable space, and assist them in reflecting on what they want at Northwestern and what supports they might need to facilitate making the choices that help them in accomplishing that. It’s a space where a lot of development can happen, and where students really need to grapple with their own agency around the choices they make. That can be hard, but also really rewarding work.
What recommendation(s) do you have for someone new to Student Affairs? It doesn’t have to be a straight path. I’ve been incredibly lucky to work in a number of different spaces – from FSL, Orientation, ResLife, the academic side, and Conduct – and I learned a lot about myself and Student Affairs through all of that. By taking a bit of a generalist approach, it’s allowed me to have more tools in my kit as I get more responsibility and need to do more outreach.
Who or what has had the greatest influence on your career? I’ve been lucky to have a number of great folks guide me in my Student Affairs work. As a grad student I worked in both FSL and First Year Programs, and I’ve continued to learn from those two Directors long after we all left that space.
What inspires you? Our students are a huge inspiration. Whether they’re building their own businesses, working on interesting things in a lab, or having aha leadership moments, I love to see them grow and develop as people while they’re here with us at Northwestern.
What can’t you live without? Food, music, our two girls and three nieces. We enjoy trying new recipes or restaurants, heading out to the Vic or the Aragon, or the Riv, and watching our girls do things like theater and lacrosse. Seeing them find their sense of humor and passions makes me light up too.
What’s your favorite spot on campus? The Source has an AMAZING and calming view of the lake.
Each week a different staff member in the division of Student Affairs will be featured. Staff can opt in to be featured, by filling out the Staff Spotlight Submission form. Student Affairs Marketing staff reach out to staff from across the division asking for participation. The spotlights will be featured in the Student Affairs Snapshot e-newsletter.