Melvin Harrison recently joined the Nicholls staff as assistant director of the Student Union and Student Programming Association advisor.Harrison replaced Allie Johnson as assistant director of the Student Union, a job he said he is very excited to have received. As an undergraduate, Harrison served several years as a student union board president and has experience working in residence life, housing, admissions, student affairs and as a registrar for an Illinois school district.

A graduate from Grambling State University, Harrison said he wants to bring a fresh outlook to Nicholls. “I believe I have the ability to connect with students,” Harrison said. “I can try to be the bridge to help students see things through the University’s perspective and let the University see things through the eyes of a student.”

Harrison has also replaced Francisco Chacon, director of the Student Union, as SPA adviser. Chacon said he is excited about working with Harrison. “He has extensive skills in programming. I feel that SPA is moving in a very positive direction since his arrival.”

He said SPA can benefit with him as advisor because he has access to many contacts and has professional relationships with many people. This is an advantage, he said, because SPA can tap these resources. Harrison said he knows people who work in various fields like novelty companies, entertainment and veterans in the student affairs and leadership field.

“The organization is becoming more collaborative with other organizations, taking steps towards structuring the organization so that it can become more effective,” Harrison said. “It will begin to start bringing more programs that students want to see.”

Harrison said he expected the SPA to be more progressive than it was when he arrived at Nicholls. “I thought things would be much further along than they were. I was surprised that the University, in relation to SPA and student organizations, weren’t as far along as I thought they would be,” Harrison said. “I just came across a few challenges that I didn’t know I would be dealing with.”

There are many goals Harrison wants to achieve during his time here at Nicholls. “I want to develop my skills as a student affairs professional and understand management of the Student Union much more. I really want to gain as much experience from the people in the variety of departments that I work with,” Harrison said.

He also has many goals for SPA including increasing membership and interest growth, making the organization much more credible to students and getting students to see the value of their participation. He wants to get SPA into a system in which they plan much further ahead. He and the SPA members are excited about their upcoming events and rebuilding the organization’s credibility.