Director of the Office of Student Experience and Engagement Nii Kpakpo Abrahams is looking forward to the SEE office’s inaugural year. Photo by Natalie Goo.

JULIA VERES | STAFF REPORTER | jveres@butler.edu 

In September 2024, Butler merged the offices of New Student and Family Programs and First Year Experience together. The Office of Student Experience and Engagement (SEE) was formed to break down “silos” in high academics as well as to better support students. 

“Silos” refers to the cliques within higher academia where departments work in isolation from one another. Department staff often only interact with those working in their department, which can hinder knowledge transfer between different departments. 

The SEE office was created in hopes to break down these silos to garner more collaboration and creative ideas between departments that have already worked together previously. The consolidation of these departments into one specific office also allows them to have better communication and accomplish goals at a faster pace. 

The office will serve as a resource to students for whatever they may need in their time at Butler. It will have resources that benefit a variety of students, including programs for first-generation students, career success programs and connections to Butler’s Diversity Center. These resources allow students to get more involved in the community.

Nii Kpakpo Abrahams, the Senior Director of the SEE office, believes in the office’s vision for campus.

“Our mission is to partner with and collaborate across campus to cultivate a relationship-rich, seamless student experience from deposit to graduation,” Abrahams said. 

Abrahams expressed his satisfaction with the formation of this new office. According to Abrahams, ideas and goals that used to take multiple weeks of bouncing back and forth to settle on now only take a meeting. 

“I think one of the coolest things about this new office is how it was constructed,” Abrahams said. “We’re getting pieces from other places, so the connective tissues are already there. For us to be in the same room has been really, really helpful.” 

With different individual offices now making up the SEE office, this means a move for some. The Office of New Student and Family Programs has moved from Student Affairs to Academic Affairs. 

Meghan Haggerty is the Director for the Office of New Student and Family Programs. Haggerty has worked within the office of student affairs for the past 18 years. Although student affairs is what Haggerty is most familiar with, she is not shying away from this change. 

“We are learning some new approaches to how we do our work,” Haggerty said. “It also means having new partnerships with other staff members we haven’t worked with in the past and continuing the long-standing relationship that we’ve had.” 

Josiah Hatfield, assistant director of new student and family programs, has worked at Butler for over a year now. Hatfield is proud of his department’s achievements, especially how it has formed a good reputation for the Orientation program.

“As we shift into a different division and there’s restructuring, I think there is also cautious optimism,” Hatfield said. “We are also a little bit protective of our well regarded Orientation program. We want to collaborate while still making sure we hold onto some of the core things that we do.”

Sophomore strategic communication major Jaclyn Layton is working as an intern within the SEE office for First Year Experience. Layton was a student of Abraham’s last year, which led to her passion for student engagement. 

“I’m excited for this new office,” Layton said. “If students have questions or concerns, if you need a resource, go to the SEE office. If you run into one person, and they are not the right person, everyone knows who to connect you with.”

While the SEE office is still new, Abrahams emphasized that those in the office are a resource for students. With the merging of these offices, there is always someone on staff who can help students with whatever they may need.