Student Development & Success
Dedicated to the well-being of every Converse student.
The right help at the right time.
The Division of Student Development and Success is readily available to help meet student needs ranging from health to academic assistance. We are dedicated to the well-being of every Converse student.
Meet the Team
Jessica Backman
Director of Student Activities and Civic Engagement
Lee Bjornsen
Director of the Center for Academic Excellence
Will Case
Associate Provost for Student Success, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Co-Director of the Nisbet Honors Program
Alexandra Eshenbaugh
Clinical Counselor
Bethany Garr
Director of Counseling and Wellness
Cathy Gowan
Director of Internships and Career Services
Theresa Lester
Director of Students in Transition
Michelle Mathis
Nurse Practitioner, Mary Black Hospital
Tori McLean Good
Director of Career Development and Employer Relations
Rhonda Mingo
Dean of Students
Jenny Pouska
Clinical Counselor
Sami Singleton
Case Manager for Student Accessibility Services
Eliza Smith
University Chaplain
Tammy Stokes
Assistant Dean of Academic Advising and Converse II
Danielle Stone
Assistant Dean of Diversity and Inclusion, Title IX Coordinator
Jennifer Travis
Front Office Coordinator
Sabrina J. Wilson
Support Specialist for Career Development and the Nisbet Honors Program
Mission Statement
The Division of Student Development and Success works collaboratively across all areas of Converse to create a campus community that challenges and supports students as they develop an understanding of self and purpose. Our aim is to empower individuals who: live with integrity, embrace diversity, care for mind, body, and spirit, demonstrate compassion, express intellectual curiosity, and engage in the global community.
The Division of Student Development and Success prepares students for personal, academic, and professional success.
Campus News
Converse Students
Converse II Senior’s Art Selected for Spartanburg Libraries Exhibition
Studio Art major Cathy Ceva ’22 won an award for her piece, Black Marketed Seahorses, during Spartanburg County Public Libraries’ 8th Annual Juried Exhibition reception. The juror for this year’s exhibition, Zane …
Converse Students
Biology Majors Complete Pesticide Research Under Dr. Steele
Heena Patel ’23 (Nisbet Honors) and Kaitlin Brown ’22 completed a 10-week summer research program sponsored by SC IDeA Networks of Biomedical Research Excellence (INBRE), funded through the National Institutes …
Internship
Minor in Arts Management Opens Door to Full-time Job
Child and Family Studies major and Arts Management minor, Chloe Young ’22, began interning at Paint Love, a nonprofit in Atlanta, Georgia, in November 2020. The Paint Love organization works …
Converse Students
MFA Student Wins New Southern Voices Poetry Book Prize
Converse MFA poetry student Marlanda Dekine is the winner of the 2021 New Southern Voices Poetry Prize. The prize, sponsored by Spartanburg’s Hub City Press, is offered biennially. Marlanda’s unpublished …
