Before coming to Wittenberg, Dennis LoConti Jr. had previously heard of the famous “Wittenberg Hello,” and, to his surprise, he can say that the people of this campus did not disappoint him.
Having the passion to work with student leaders and helping them seek the things that they are passionate about added that extra spark for Wittenberg’s new area coordinator Dennis LoConti, of New Hall, Woodlawn Hall and Polis.
“The first few weeks here have been absolutely wonderful. Both students and staff have gone out of their way to make me feel welcome,” LoConti said. “I am excited to join the Wittenberg community.”
He found the area coordinator position interesting because it spoke to his passion for working with small, private institutions like Witt. His collateral will be working with leadership development and programming on campus.
“Residence Life can be a lot of fun; however, I was looking to get involved outside of the residence halls as well,” LoConti said.
He has had the opportunity to work with several areas of student involvement, starting with activities in Greek life, wellness education and leadership programs. He has also been able to get some experience in the different areas of student affairs.
“I am excited to work with students here at Witt,” LoConti said.
Prior to coming to Wittenberg, he completed his Master’s degree at Baldwin Wallace University in leadership on higher education, and he finished his Bachelors of Arts in English writing with a minor in theater arts at Heidelberg University.
“As controversial as it might be to say, I have spent the last two years as an area director at the College of Wooster,” LoConti said.
As residential life staff, their job is to help students feel like the hall they’re currently living in is a place they can call home.
LoConti’s hope for his RAs and himself is to accomplish that job together as one by providing residents with programming and support.
“Wittenberg is lucky to have a group of very dedicated and passionate RAs at their disposal. They welcome me with open arms, even if our opinion on who the best Disney Princess is was not the same (P.S., it’s Belle),” LoConti said. “Although, I would have to say that it probably worked in my favor that I didn’t come to Wittenberg by myself. I am sure that my three-year-old dog Caera has helped me in that regard.”
He has been pretty impressed with the commitment to the Wittenberg community.