Associate Vice Provost for Student Affairs D’Andre Braddix (BS 2007, MEd 2008) oversees a number of university departments, including Student Social Services; Career Services; Residential Life and Housing; Student Involvement; the Millennium Student Center; Health, Counseling and Disability Access Services; and Student Conduct and Community Standards. (Photo by August Jennewein)

As an undergraduate at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, D’Andre Braddix had a defining experience through his studies and campus involvement. He’s now made a career out of securing that opportunity for others as UMSL’s associate vice provost for student affairs.

Braddix (BS 2007, MEd 2008) shared his #UMSLproud story for UMSL Magazine’s “In the Spotlight” interview.

It’s all about UMSL.

When my friends and I get together, it’s as if no time has passed. Our conversations are almost always about our golden days at UMSL. Last year, my friends and I hosted a mini-reunion with 22 other UMSL alumni. We spent the entire evening reminiscing about our time in student government, Greek life, going to UMSL basketball games and living on campus.

I became interested in higher education from seeing myself and others develop at UMSL.

As a first-generation college student, I expected to grow academically when I came to UMSL, but I had no idea that I would also develop as a person. It’s an amazing feeling when you see students realize their full potential, and working at UMSL allows me that opportunity every day.

Each day is so different. That’s what I love about my job in student affairs.

I oversee Student Social Services; Career Services; Residential Life and Housing; Student Involvement; the Millennium Student Center; Health, Counseling and Disability Access Services; Student Conduct and Community Standards as well as the strategic initiatives for the division. My work varies so much from day to day, but it’s all about the student experience. The needs and interests of our students constantly shift, so we have to regularly re-evaluate our resources and services to ensure we’re doing our best to support students.

One of our main goals in student affairs is to see more students engaged on campus.

We are always seeking to get more students active on campus. Whether it’s in the form of joining a student organization, living on campus, working out at the recreation center or grabbing a coffee with faculty or staff, we simply want our students to feel connected to UMSL. Engaged students help to create a more vibrant campus. Additionally, research shows that students who are involved on campus perform better academically and are more successful when job seeking after graduation.

Describing the UMSL student experience is the million-dollar question.

We provide so many different opportunities for students at UMSL, it’s almost impossible to generally define the student experience. However, I would definitely consider the diversity we promote across campus – coupled with our commitment to civil discourse and mutual respect – a major aspect of the UMSL student experience. Fortunately, there is nothing homogeneous about our campus, so students are constantly being exposed to people of different races, ages, religions, political views, etc. I believe that this exposure to different backgrounds and viewpoints provides our students with a fairly unique advantage in today’s global society.

This story was originally published in the spring 2019 issue of UMSL Magazine. If you have a story idea for UMSL Magazine, email magazine@umsl.edu.