Nominated by Associate Dean Mike Hine, “Mama Sprott” (as she is warmly referred to by students) is most deserving of the honour. A number of supportive seconds were collected to support the nomination. A sampling of the words used to describe Caldwell include:
- caring
- sincere
- positive
- professional
- involved
- energetic
- enthusiastic
- dedicated
- advocate
She defines the student success office as comprising of everything that doesn’t fit anywhere else.
“Everybody has a different vision of what success is,” says Caldwell. “My job is to help each student create their own vision of success and help them create a plan to achieve it. Whether it be to make sure they know about the programs we have, where and when to get academic advice and making sure they know who to speak too.”
As Sprott’s Student Success Officer, Caldwell says her job is to make others shine and she’ll do everything she can to make that happen. You’ll see her out at events, supporting students in competition, working after hours to make things come together and sending the occasional late night/early morning email. She is often caught checking emails on vacation too!
With everything she has going on, we wanted to know: What’s the best part of her job?
“The students. If it wasn’t for the students, I wouldn’t want to come to work everyday,” she says. “I know what it was like to struggle and flounder and I don’t want our students to have same experience that I had. Whatever we can do to help them succeed, that gets me excited to come to work everyday! The environment here is supportive to trying new things and innovative solutions for students. It’s not cookie cutter. We have the freedom to explore to find the best solution for everyone.”
The next best thing would have to be the small victories she gets to experience with her students everyday. She was also recognized by the students this year at the Sprott Business Students’ Society end-of-year gala. She received a “Mama Sprott” t-shirt signed by many Sprott students that included messages that speak to the influence and impacts she has had on students. “Things like that really mean a lot,” she says.
Bachelor of Commerce student Yuliya Riabko had the pleasure of working with Julie this year in the student success office.
“I have known Julie since my first year in university,” says Riabko, who won this year’s National Capital Leadership Challenge and named Student Entrepreneur – Ontario Champion by ACE . “She was always encouraging me to get engaged outside of classroom environment. If I had challenges she was always there to help me and to mentor me on how to succeed. I believe that I am not the only student who became successful because of Julie’s passion of helping students to succeed. No wonder she is ‘Student Success Officer’!”
Rumour also has it Caldwell never says “no” when it comes to helping students. In fact, when she was asked to identify her “worst” quality during her interview for the position, she responded with, “I have a very hard time saying no. I believe in trying things at least once.” However, she adds that she is “working on it”!
