Jordan Graham, administrative coordinator for the Social Science and Humanities department, will be leaving Lane at the end of June due to budget cuts removing her position.
By Stevie Davisson
Jordan Graham, administrative coordinator for the newly combined Social Science and Humanities department, has worked front of house for Lane Community College for two years. A friendly face to staff and students alike, Graham doesn’t take her position lightly. “It’s within my personality to be a supportive person,” Graham says, “I like to help people in any way that I can, even if it’s not within my job description.”
With a decade of experience in education administration, ranging from handling sensitive documents for admissions at Mohave Community College (MCC,) to wrangling the complexities of K-12 policies at South Lane School District, Graham has been uniquely suited to juggling both the Social Science and Humanities departments for Lane.
“It can be rough, working between two divisions, because the cultures are different, the policy is a little bit different, [there’s] just different styles of leadership” she says, but her experiences working admissions for MCC’s four campuses prepared her for Lane. “All [four campuses] had their own little culture for each area, like Lake Havasu, which is predominantly older people, and then you had Bullhead… right on the Colorado River opposite Laughlin, which is basically Vegas-lite,” Graham laughs. “It was a whole different thing for every single campus.”
Here at Lane, Graham’s list of responsibilities are buoyed by her own imperative to be as helpful as possible to anyone who visits her desk or calls in to ask for assistance, even if their needs are outside of her domain. “If somebody calls in and it’s a [question] for Health Science, it’s just easier to try and find an answer to help somebody than it is to push them off onto the next person.”
Whether it’s answering a question, or helping staff with technological set-backs, or unlocking one of the million locked doors that hamper staff and students on a daily basis on the fourth floor of the Center Building, Graham has established herself as an invaluable source of cheer, good-humor, and support. “I make sure that I’m available to provide assistance anywhere that I can if somebody asks,” she says. “If somebody needs help, I am here, I exist, I promise I will help you with no judgment.”
Due to Lane’s ongoing budget-cuts, by the end of June Graham’s position as dual-coordinator will no longer exist.
Kat Tabor, former editor-in-chief for The Torch and long time admirer of Graham’s work ethic and sunny-disposition, was shocked to hear about this future loss. “I love Jordan, she’s just such a light,” Tabor says. “She brightens up every Friday morning that I come in for meetings and it makes me sad that she’s not going to be part of my weekly routine because I feel so welcomed by her.”
Tabor is now at the University of Oregon’s School of Journalism and Communication but is working with The Torch in an advisory capacity. The Torch holds meetings every Friday just down the hall from Graham’s welcome desk, bringing its staff into regular contact with her, so as long as Tabor has worked with The Torch, she’s worked with Graham. As with many other students and staff, Graham’s presence has been instrumental in improving Tabor’s experience from the very beginning.
“When I first started,” Tabor says, “I didn’t really understand how things worked, and [Graham] was just so comfortable, to just talk me though it and gently guide [me] and she’s always been happy to open a door, happy to help me.”
“I think it’s devastating, to hear that she’s not going to be here anymore,” Tabor muses, “She always does what she can to help somebody, and if she doesn’t know the answer she gets somebody for you who does, and so that’s going to be a devastating loss for this campus.”
Graham’s last day will be June 30, giving well-wishers some time to see her off and thank her for her service to this community. From there, she has a few potential positions at other schools that she’s excited to pursue. Graham will be joined in her future move by her cat, Noctis, named after the Final Fantasy character.
While she’s sad to leave this community behind, Graham reflects warmly on her time with Lane. “There hasn’t been a whole lot that hasn’t been good [here,]” she says. “All my life, I wanted to help people in any way that I am able to, and my biggest thing is to just be supportive and to see people achieve their goals and guide them along their way a little bit, that’s always been my favorite part.” Graham laughs, recounting that often the students who seek her out for help just need, “A kick in the butt, and also a reminder to maybe sleep every once in a while!”
