Wanted- Educator of math and Mentor of dorm life

There are many routes and clubs students may take advantage of while here. Some get very involved in media or Greek life organizations, while others chose the Residence Life or athletic course. The main thing is to find a way to get involved and enjoy the ride.

If you have lived on campus for a few years, you might know a guy named Steven Bernstein. In his six years here, he has become a friendly force on this campus. Having served as an Resident Assistant (RA) and currently an Resident Director (RD), he's had the chance to impact the lives of those living near and around him. In his pursuit of being a math teacher, he has learned how to assist those in need of guidance.

When Steven was first choosing potential schools to pursue his mathematics interests, he didn't look too hard. Being a Long Island native, you wouldn't think that Fredonia would be his first thought for schools. This decision came about from his passion for math and familial ties. He knew throughout high school that he wanted to be a math teacher. Fredonia's reputation for its education program was also an attraction for Steve.

As mentioned before, Steve knew that he wanted peruse his educational field for some time. This commitment to education was mostly due to his interest in this field and developed math skills in grade school. "It was my number one subject in school, followed by the other fields," said Steve.

 While he had this intention for a long time, he also had an interest in the sciences, specifically meteorology and geology. These other fields almost overtook his first interest, as he applied to his second choice of school: Oswego state. He heard that, like Fredonia's education program, Oswego's meteorology program was top notch. Even here at Fredonia, he chose to take several geology related courses as part of his general education requirements and personal electives. "People thought I was nuts since geology was usually taken by freshman needing a science credit," he said. "If the math thing didn't work out, meteorology was something else I could have done." Thankfully the math thing did work out for Steven and he is here today.

In the complex world of mathematics, there is one subject Steve stakes as his personal favorite: geometry. Since his early high school days, he learned to enjoy this area and has ever since.

Going back to the general field of math, he's always found it to visually make sense to him. As a visual learner, he said, "I could see the coordinates in the visual planes."

 When he teaches, he finds satisfaction in the various "click" moments students receive when they finally understand a concept. Much of his ability to create these click moments comes from his nearly six years here as a math student and future educator.

One of Steve's previous and main involvements here was his two year run as an RA in Grissom Hall. He started inquiring about the job as a freshman, although he didn't actually apply until the end of his junior year.

Steve's RD as a resident, current UC and Gregory RD Dan Goodwin, got him involved in various activities through his hall council and other hall activities. When his senior year came around, he finally got the RA notice and began this adventure at Fredonia.

At the end of his undergraduate career, Steve had to make a choice concerning his future schooling and RA job. Steve wasn't set on leaving Fredonia or giving up his RA job. Fortunately he found a solution; stay at Fredonia for graduate school and keep his RA status through this academic transition. To this day, Steve hasn't met another graduate student RA.

After a few years in this position, he made a crucial decision pertaining to his future in the Residence Life program. By the time he completed his first year as a graduate student, he was becoming a bit "out of range" with his residents, in terms of age. The near 4-5 year age gap between him and a majority of his hall made him question his future as a student RA.

He decided to take the next step up: Residence Director. Due to the changing availability of this position, he had the opportunity to make this happen.

Since becoming an RD, he has assisted in the running of WHOA (Weekend Hang Out  Activities) Fredonia. This on-campus program series is designed to allow students to enjoy free and exciting events with their fellow students on Saturday nights. These programs encourage students to consider staying on campus for the weekend versus other off campus events that may be occurring. "Students aren't going to college so that they can leave college to have their fun; why can't they have their fun on campus," Steve said. Past events run by the WHOA committee have included; Rock & Bowl, The Grinch movie screening, Legends of the Hidden Temple themed game night, pool parties, mini golf and other events.

Several other RD's assist in the planning and running of these events through the newly formed WHOA committee. This committee was established to take some of the pressure off Matt Foster, the RD of Chautauqua hall and recent driving force behind the group, in the organization and executing of the events.

As an RD, Steve encourages others to consider WHOA an attempt to keep them safe and entertained on their weekends off.

During Steve's six years here, he has found many ways to help those around him. His experiences as a RA and RD have allowed him tpo share his knowledge of Fredonia and dorm life. The knowledge he's gained as a future educator has further allowed him to positively impact those he serves and mentors.

His work through WHOA and Residence Life has convinced him that one of the most important parts of college life is simply being involved. This allowed him to get to where he is now and he believes this would benefit others as well. Although he's not sure where he will end up as a teacher, he is proud of his time here and hopes others will enjoy it just as much.