Scott Mauro, a two-time UCF graduate (1994, 2019), joined the Florida Consortium Team in June 2021.
Hello everyone! My name is Scott Mauro. My friends and family also call me Scoot, Scooter, and Scotty. My 16-year-old son and 8-year-old daughter call me Dad. Please feel free to use any moniker that makes you most comfortable.
A few years ago, I was sitting in my Capstone Class as I was pursuing my Master of Arts in Educational Leadership (class of 2019 graduating nearly 25 years after receiving my Bachelor of Arts in Radio-Television at UCF). Dr. DeLaine Priest, the current UCF Associate Vice Provost of Student Success and Advising, was our guest speaker. Her energy and enthusiasm captivated me. I am most engaged when I meet people passionate about anything, be it higher education, sports, music, family, politics, you name it. Dr. Priest is an ardent student affairs practitioner. Her zest for serving students was particularly palpable that night. I dialed in on her message so much so that I kept the notes. I pinned them at eyes view in my Recreation and Wellness Center office here at UCF to serve as a reminder of my own professional goals. In fact, Dr. Priest’s advice that fall evening was a finely honed message on development and growth. She had us write down a goal for ourselves, and the three characteristics we would use to help us reach it.
Her assignment was one of those exercises in your coursework that can seem excitingly fleeting. But something compelled me to keep those notes, call it a gut feeling, intuition, or something undefined. I intended to make good on a promise I made to myself that night. That was the entire point of Dr. Priest’s message. She challenged us to be an advocate for ourselves and make change happen. When the opportunity to join the Florida Consortium of Metropolitan Research Universities presented itself, I looked at my pinboard again. The note is handwritten and legible, certainly not how most of us would describe our class notes from college (proof her assignment meant something to me). At the top of the page, I wrote down my goal, “To obtain a role as an Assistant Director (or higher) with a Student Development and Enrollment Services unit or an administrative position that helps in facilitating better storytelling of our student success effort.” After the goal, I wrote down the three tools I planned to use to make it all happen including, opportunity, vision, and focus. I focused on those three words and aligned them with the communication and strategy role with the Consortium. Maybe epiphany is too strong of a word, but it is fair to say something illuminated me.
I applied for the job. A few months later, I am introducing myself to this incredible collaboration of institutions. Leaving behind a decade of student affairs work in campus recreation and well-being was not easy. But when I look at the promise I made to myself years ago, I reach for those three tools to help explain how much it means to be a part of this great team. My new role as Associate Director of Strategy is an opportunity to expand my student affairs journey, particularly with our efforts on transfer success and career readiness. Any collaborative effort between organizations committed to the same vision is an example of the kind of congruence we are all looking for professionally. The focus on expanding access to students and the transformational approach of our institutions is something I wanted to be a part of. I am equally excited to leverage my thirteen years of media experience to help amplify our messages and brand in our three key metropolitan areas. I know our audiences are different, but our mission is universal.
I am a big fan of New Amsterdam on NBC. I find the main character Max Goodwin, played brilliantly by Ryan Eggold, to be compelling. He is fond of using the phrase “How can I help?” when caring for patience and his staff. He does it with palpable sincerity, not to mention an outside-the-box approach due to the limited budget of his organization. He is fantastic with people, digs a little deeper to know more about them, and tries to create equitable solutions to create more access to health care. Sound familiar? I plan to bring Max’s spirit to our work, and I cannot wait to roll up my sleeves and work with you all. How can I help?