Graduating can be a scary thing. For recent graduate Brea Joyner, she felt accomplished, but not excited.

“I was actually pretty worried, because I was no longer sure if I wanted to pursue a career in journalism anymore,” the communications grad said.

“I didn’t have a job opportunity lined up, so I couldn’t fully enjoy this milestone in my life without a sense of worry in the back of my mind.”

Joyner found her job opportunity right here at ULM. She is the new coordinator of student activities. She replaced Michael Roboski, because he wanted to pursue a Master’s Degree in teaching.

Roboski worked at ULM for a little over two years, starting the day after he graduated.

“Knowing how I am as a student and a person, I couldn’t handle the long hours, nights and weekends of the job and still do well as a full-time online,” Roboski said.

He is now getting real-world experience by teaching business math at Vidalia High School in Concordia Parish.

Joyner had no idea when she graduated she would be in this position.

“For four years, I spent time learning and molding my craft of broadcast journalism, and really up until the spring of senior year, I was sure that I would become a news reporter post-graduation,” Joyner said.

Joyner knew that God had a plan for her life, so she accepted the adjustment. She applied for five different jobs upon graduating, including her current position.

“I just so happened to hear that Mike (Roboski) was leaving, and so I reached out to him to confirm and to meet to talk with him about what all the job entails,” Joyner said.

Joyner said she was involved with the Campus Activities Board for a few years, but being a CAB adviser would be completely different from being a student. She decided to talk to Roboski first, and he proved to be very helpful.

Roboski was proud to hear Joyner got the job.

“We had some really strong candidates for that position, and she came out on top. I am optimistic about her performance, as well,” Roboski said. “She knows CAB and will bring some fresh ideas and perspective to the group.”

Week of Welcome was Joyner’s first “big week” as the new coordinator of student activities. She enjoyed the challenge last week brought her.

“We have three big weeks over the school year, and even though everything did not go perfect, I survived and I feel revived. I also love seeing the potential leaders throughout CAB,” she said.

Joyner said CAB officers stepped up last week along with a few new members.

“To see new faces, and even returners, step up and efficiently lead without being told is truly beautiful. I believe that there is a leader in everyone. It just takes the right opportunity to show it,” Joyner said.

Joyner has set some goals for herself and CAB. Her ultimate goal is to get more students to participate in their events. She believes three things drive a successful event: “publicity, participation, and positivity.”

“As a group, we have to publicize our events in a more efficient and timely manner to ensure that everyone knows an event is coming; even if it gets to the point that students are annoyed seeing us flood their timeline or however they see it,” she said. “This year, we will engage with students outside of CAB more, because we want to hear what they have to say–what they would like to see or no longer see.”

At the end of the day, Joyner wants the school spirit to get back to how it was.

“I see way too many people wearing other universities’ t-shirts, hear too many people downplaying how great our school is and just sense negative energy sometimes,” she said. “I believe that we could all change the culture of our campus and bring a genuine, positive spirit.”

She wants the students at ULM to be connected, and she thinks those connections can happen at CAB events.

Joyner wants to tell all graduating seniors to “be open to opportunity.” “So many times, we get caught up in finding a job that reflects our degree, that we end up missing a great opportunity before our eyes,” she said.

“You never know how strong you are until you’re pushed out of your comfort zone.”