MARCH 2022
IN THIS ISSUE Message from Regional Director Meet the RLT Important Dates Volunteer Opportunities Regional Gathering
Message from the Regional Director Oh, how I’ve missed us. The 2019 Region II Conference (here at Arkansas!) was the last time I got to be in the room with any of my ACUI friends and family. At the day of this writing, it’s been 850 days since I’ve last gotten to high-five, hug, and have coffee with so many of you. And while seeing your faces on Zoom calls and online conferences has been its own reward, I think we’ve all reached the same conclusion: it’s better to be sitting at the same table.
Our worlds are still far from normal, but we’ve reached a point where “normal-ish” is often good enough. I’m looking forward to seeing many ACUI friends and (let’s be honest) family in Chicago at the Annual Conference this month. Our Regional Leadership Team is hard at work planning both online and in-person experiences for our members this year. And yes, we’re thrilled that we’ll all have the chance to get together at Sam Houston State University at our Region II Conference this coming fall. I hope the last two years have brought you some joy alongside all the fear and changes in our world; and I hope that ACUI can help you to make good changes in your work and learning at our institutions. Dr. Rob Stagni
MARCH 2021, VOLUME 3
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Regional Leadership Team Michael McKean is the 2022 Regional Conference Coordinator and is the associate director at the Rayburn Student Center at Texas A&M Commerce. He has served volunteer roles at ACUI since 2014. Cassidy Sansone Kosater (she/her) is the 2023 Region II Conference Coordinator. She works in the University Unions at UT Austin as the assistant director for student programs. Cassidy has been on the regional leadership team since 2019 and is excited to be working on upcoming Region II conferences! In her spare time, Cassidy enjoys reading, listening to podcasts, hiking, and spending time with friends, her husband Austin, and dog Coriander.
Tabitha Tipton is currently Assistant Director II, Operations at Lowman Student Center at Sam Houston State University. My background is in campus recreation but my overall years of experience is split evenly between campus rec and student centers, as of 2022. I have a very supporting husband and a precious 2 year old daughter. To a comical extent, I love goldfish crackers.
Regional Leadership Team Katie Garza is an event manager at the University of Texas at San Antonio. She has been on the regional leadership team as Communications Coordinator since 2021. Katie enjoys traveling and anything outdoors.
Dr. Kat Paynter is an events coordinator at Texas A&M University Corpus Christi and ACUI Region II Student Involvement Coordinator. Fun Fact: I just completed my doctoral program in December! Now taking recommendations on books to read for fun.
Gabi Gies is a junior honors student studying political science and psychology at the University of Arkansas. She is active in many areas of campus, including student government and volunteer programs, and works part-time for the Arkansas Union.
Important Dates Important Dates
March 9th at 3:00pm - Regional Business Meeting Be sure to join us on Zoom for our Regional Business Meeting. We'll have important and exciting regional updates.
March 13th at 5:30pm-6:30pmRegional Meet-Up Join us at the ACUI Annual Conference in Chicago during our regional meet-up. We'll have games and prizes. We hope to see you at the Annual Conference!
Volunteer Opportunities Are you interested in getting more involved with ACUI? Region II is seeking dedicated professionals for both the regional leadership team and conference planning team in the following areas. Marketing and Communications Learning Tracks and Engagement Education Sessions Registration
Visit https://www.acui.org/regions/ii/regionalvolunteer-opportunities to apply today! Want something included in our next issue? Contact Katie Garza at katie.garza@utsa.edu or Andrea Brown at andrea.brown@utsa.edu
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