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Kristan Sartor just loves non-commercial radio. She loves it so
much that she’s been involved with KZSC Santa Cruz, the radio
station located on the UCSC campus, for the past three years. This
year, Kristan served as Volunteer Coordinator for KZSC, through
the Chancellor’s Undergraduate Internship Program (or CUIP,
as it’s most commonly known). As Volunteer Coordinator, Kristan
has been in charge of KZSC’s large volunteer force, comprised
of approximately 200 programmers, trainees and volunteers. Each
of these people needs to complete volunteer hours to participate
at KZSC. Kristan has made sure that each and every one has had all
the volunteer opportunities they need by coordinating large volunteer
projects and events, by improving the KZSC website so that KZSC
volunteers can access information about volunteering from home,
and just by being around to help out and answer questions. As Kristan
said, “Basically, I was the person who made sure that things
happened, that people showed up, and that everything necessary was
provided.”
Before becoming KZSC’s Volunteer Coordinator, Kristan had
prepared for the position in a variety of ways. She had already
served on KZSC’s Governing Board as External Promotions director,
which gave her experience with KZSC itself and with communicating
with a variety of people, both the general public and the UCSC community.
She had also served as a Resident Advisor (RA) for Porter College
where she gained further experience communicating with a diverse
group of people and planning both small and large events. Kristan
had also learned time management, organizational, and technical
skills, all of which served her greatly while serving as Volunteer
Coordinator.
Kristan feels that she has been very successful this year. “The
goal this year for KZSC outreach was to increase the number of freshmen
and sophomores involved – and we got so many that we actually
had to defer enrollment in our training program for some students
because of space limitations.” She accomplished much over
the past year: increasing and improving outreach by working with
the colleges and student organizations, increasing retention rates
by using web communication methods to stay in touch with volunteers,
and by developing quarterly reports on KZSC volunteers, in which
she was able to present both analysis of the KZSC volunteer force
and recommendations for the future.
Kristan believes that the course associated with CUIP, Leadership
and Institution Building, contributed significantly to her overall
experience with CUIP. “The class let me connect with both
my fellow CUIP interns and University leaders. I was able to learn
how the university worked, and who to talk to when I need something
done. I even collaborated with some of my fellow interns to do outreach
like we’ve never done before!”
Kristan will continue to serve in a leadership role at KZSC next
year, as she has been elected by KZSC general staff to be the KZSC
Station Manager for the 2007-2008 year. Her experience as Volunteer
Coordinator will be a great benefit to her in this position. “My
skills in communication, problem-solving, and diplomacy have all
improved,” she said. “And I’m going to need them.”
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