Steve Petkas is Retiring As many of you know, Steve Petkas is retiring at the end of July after 37 years in the Department of Resident Life. I sat down virtually with him recently to talk about his time with the Department and what he’s looking forward to in retirement. As you can imagine, a lot has happened in the 37 years Steve has been in the Department of Resident Life. Some themes from our conversation were the importance of committing to our community development mission and thriving in the midst of challenge and chaos. These topics go hand in hand. One of Steve’s fondest memories was a moment during the first “Olympics of the Mind” conference. It was an all hands on deck affair with Pat Mielke and Deb Grandner playing the roles of trash attendants in Mickey Mouse-like gloves wielding trash sticks and garbage bag with a huge amount of light heartedness and fun. It’s these types of moments that Steve has appreciated most, “the willingness we have always demonstrated to roll up our sleeves and get our hands dirty doing whatever labors are required of us.”
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Thirty-seven years can go by more quickly than you would think.
Steve recalled the “work hard, play hard” nature of ’95-’01 that included sing-a-longs, line dances, and the Macarena. “These ‘let your hair down affairs’ [showed] our unity in fierce commitment to the mission, borne of the difficult experiences in the lean years of ’90-’94 during which occupancy plummeted, budgets and staff lines were slashed, and well-developed programs ditched as we labored in a survival mindset. One never looks forward to mining the upsides of difficult times, but one of them is a commitment to team that is bred by few other experiences.” As the commitment to team was forged in lean times, a different staff bond was formed in the wake of loss. “My recollections would be incomplete without recalling times in which we came together and mourned the deaths of dear friends in our ranks and families. The authenticity that arises from the pain of grief bonds us as perhaps does no other sentiment. Such memories cannot be characterized so much as fond as they are profound, and recalling them can still summon tears. Our times in shared grief have been our most intimate, uninhibited, and soul-wrenchingly honest moments together. They are the massive counterweight to our joys, and thankfully, far more the exception.”
Res Life Roundup | Spring 2021 | Vol. 3
As we come out of the current challenges we are experiencing due to the pandemic, Steve advises that we re-commit to our community building mission and remember that community is enhanced by in-person interactions. In doing so he encourages us to take time to understand each of our struggles along with student struggles and grapple with the true nature of risk that carries no promise of assurances, and commit to promoting the value of being present and engaged. And for those who need it, he hopes we will make space to support our staff members who conclude that they need to make different professional choices in the wake of such an unprecedented year. To our newest staff members Steve says, “Engage deliberately with people in the 10-15 year cohort to learn from their experiences, history, perspectives, insights. Ask what has made them stay. Be proactive and learn what you need to know to adapt and how your ideas can be adapted to support your emerging impulse to contribute.” To our 10-15 year staff, or our “could be lifers”, when faced with choice to leave or not he asks you to reflect on the question “What keeps me here?” (Are you here by default, is the
