Baker University’s Director of Student Life, Emma Wagemaker, has accepted a position with the City of Lawrence. She is set to begin her new role on April 22, with her last day at Baker being April 12.
Wagemaker’s new role, Communications and Events Coordinator, with the City of Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department, will have her working closely with the Lawrence community to help with events the city puts on.
“I will help with lots of events like arts and crafts fairs, fourth-of-July, or different holiday celebrations,” Wagemaker said of her new position. “I will also help with the safety of events and other event logistics like crowd control, coordinating different departments and materials.”
Wagemaker wore many hats during her time at Baker University. From University Admissions Assistant to Alpha Chi Omega’s Chapter President to Director of Student Life, and Panhellenic and Student Senate Advisor, Wagemaker has left a lasting impact on Baker Univerity students.
“Emma was the chapter President of Alpha Chi Omega when I was a new member,” Senior Alpha Chi member, Trinity Gilbert said. “I was lucky to meet Emma before I even came to Baker she convinced me to come to Baker. She makes everyone feel seen and heard while being an awesome leader.”
She began her journey here at Baker University as an undergraduate student, graduating in May 2021. In her time as a Baker undergraduate, Wagemaker was an active member of Alpha Chi Omega, serving as Chapter President, Vice President of Risk Management, and Vice President of Ritual and Fraternity Appreciation.
“Most of what I did on campus as a student was with Alpha Chi as an exec,” Wagemaker said. “I served as an exec all three years in Alpha Chi.”
In addition to her ties to sorority life, Wagemaker was also involved in both Baker’s Treble and Concert Choirs as well as the Emerging Leader Summit where she served as the student director.
Soon after graduating, she accepted a position in the admissions department. After spending time in the department as a University Admissions Assistant as an undergraduate, she was able to take the knowledge she gained and began her career with Baker University.
“The transition was easy but kind of weird at first,” Wagemaker notes. “I still knew so many of the students so I was a little nervous that the boundary setting would be hard moving into the role.”
After about a year of working in the department, Executive Director of Student Life, Macy Warburton, reached out to Wagemaker about an opening within Student Life.
“She was so excited to come in and do the work. She saw the vision and was able to come in and just hit the ground running,” Warburton said of Wagemaker’s move to Student Life. “It was the easiest transition we could have had.”
After working closely with Wagemaker for the last two years, Warburton hopes to continue many of the events created and led by Wagemaker including ‘Finals Countdown’ and ‘Chalk Wars,’ which was brought to campus by the Student Senate.
“I think being able to get student organizations known across campus is really important, so we definitely want to continue her work with that,” Warburton said. “Even with her leaving for a new opportunity, our community is still the same will fill any gaps together and still have fun.”
Positions for both Assistant Director and Director of Student Life are currently open, with the hope of being filled by the fall semester.
