Interesting People | Kelli Lemon

Kelli Lemon, the director of New Student Programs, is leaving after 14 years of working with VCU.  Lemon earned her undergraduate degree in Sociology at University of Virginia and her master’s in Sports Management and Leadership at VCU.  She is leaving VCU to work with friends at the restaurant Mama J’s in Jackson Ward.  This past week, going away parties were held in her honor and she took the time to talk to The CT about her experiences here at VCU.

How long have you been at VCU?
I started in August, 1998, so this will be my 14th year.

Have you always worked the same job here at VCU?
No, this my fourth position at the university. I started in athletics, and believe it or not, I was the director of women’s basketball operations.  That was my very first job here at VCU. Then I got promoted to director of athletic student involvement. Then I left there and went to the Commons, University Student Commons, and I was the assistant director for programs and events and then I came over to the University college.

What inspired you to come over to the University college?
Daphne Rankin [Assistant Vice Provost for Instruction].  It was really that simple.  She approached me at a time when I was thinking about leaving the university because I wasn’t happy and she said, No, no, no, no. I said Okay, I’ll see what you got, and it ended up being a great situation for me.

You’ve changed a lot about the orientation process since you started this position.  How have you made the orientation better?
I think that you have to look at orientation as a university event. We’re all hands on deck. Every department is responsible for making orientation successful, and in order for that to happen, you have to be able to talk to everybody.

What do I mean by that? I have to get along with admissions. I have to get along with housing.  I have to get along with  the academics. I have to get along with the advisors.  I have to make sure that VCU Police is on board. When you make everybody feel like they are included, it always helps the situation come out so much better. I think that that was one of the major things that changed.

And also, we made sure we hired students that no matter if their day was bad, they loved VCU so much that you couldn’t even tell what their situation was at that time. We also hired students that were extremely diverse because you want people to come into orientation and get acclimated to the university and see themselves in someone else because its going to make them feel so much more comfortable.

You spend a lot of time working with freshman, through the orientation, what do you like about freshman so much?
Well, our first-year students come here with no expectations.  They come here rather raw and it is good to see them kind of grow over the years.  They come in with this very awkward identity, and VCU allows you to be yourself.  That is one of the things that I truly love about the school…  This class, the class of 2013 is the first class that I brought in through orientation. I’m sad that I won’t see them, but I’m happy to know that I’ve seen enough of them that I know what they are going to look like for the future.  That is the best thing about working with first year class, is that you see them grow. But also, I don’t want to forget that I do also work with transfer students.

I’ve heard that you are moving on to a restaurant.  Could you tell us about that?
My friends own a very successful restaurant in Jackson Ward.  It’s called Mama J’s and although it sounds like I’m going to go work for a restaurant, my friends ideals and future goals are so much bigger than a restaurant. I’ll be the general manager for the Mama J’s brand.  I’ll be in charge of the day-to-day operations of the restaurant, the branding of the restaurant and also helping out with catering.  We will do full-source catering and we will have an event hall and future plans in the works.

So we should keep an eye out for the Mama J’s name?
Exactly, because we want to take it further than it just being in Jackson Ward.  The reason why I’ve always wanted to own my lounge. I love Richmond and I love talking to people. I’ve had the opportunity to host so many things in Richmond, not just related to VCU so it was a good opportunity for me to spread my wings.

What’s your favorite memory at VCU?
There is no way I would be able to pick just one. Dr. (Eugene) Trani, when I first came to VCU, was trying to get us out of this commuter mentality.  Our students weren’t engaged.  Our students felt like they went to classes and then they just went home on the weekends. To watch students be at over 80 percent in the residence halls, to watch basketball games get to capacity, and as small as it is, to watch students walk around this campus wearing black and gold.

I know that that sounds very small, but when I got here, VCU did not have any spirit.  You could not tell who a VCU student was.

Is there something you’ll miss most about VCU?
The students.  I think that is what makes me sad about leaving.  Hopefully I won’t be too far, because I’m still here in Richmond.  You’ll still see me on the sidelines of men’s basketball.  I have really not realized until recently, I hate to get teary-eyed about this, the impact that I have had on students… I probably will the most miss the students and how they have changed my life too.  I feel like I have finally graduated.  I got my master’s from here, but I can finally leave this university knowing that I have made a mark.

Do you have anything that you would like to say to the students?
Just live it out to the best of your ability, don’t have any regrets.  You’re young, and although I want them to have fun, I want them to take the next four years of their life very seriously  because the real world is a beast.  I know that they will be prepared, because that is our number one goal, to prepare our students for the future.  Embrace this diversity because it is a part of the real world.  A VCU student is a well-rounded student.

I wish everybody a whole bunch of success.  I’ll always bleed black and gold and I’ll always be a Ram.