About the OCL Team
Who We Are & Our SF Recommendations
USF’s 55-acre campus is situated just one block from the exact center of San Francisco. Art galleries, sporting events, made-from-scratch meals, live music, a room with a view — everything this city has to offer is less than 3.5 miles away.
We've surveyed our team to help give you a sense of who we are and where we find community. Check out our interactive Google Map below - our recommendations are organized in categories that you can access –and filter your views– by clicking the toolbar icon in the upper-left corner of the map.
The custom location pins reflect where many of our 18 departmental colleagues –Assistant Residence Directors, Residence Directors, and OCL Leadership– recommend for leisure, errands, healthcare/maximizing your staff benefits.
Race & Ethnicity: Black; Latinx; Central American - Nicaraguan; Asian; Chinese; Taiwanese; Thai; Hawaiian; Biracial; White
Gender: cisgender woman; cisgender male
Sexual Orientation: queer; gay; heterosexual
Nationality/Citizenship: immigrant; child-of-immigrants; undocumented; international; U.S. Citizen
Socioeconomic Status: first-generation; college-educated; low-income; professional
Ability: semi- or temporarily-able bodied; hard-of-hearing
Religious/Spiritual Orientation: Spiritual; Agnostic
Miscellaneous: multilingual
*Disclaimer: this list is not an exhaustive list of the demographics that comprise the entire professional staff of the Office of Community Living.
United States:
- CA: San Diego; San Rafael; Manteca; San Jose; Oxnard (Ventura County); San Francisco
- FL: Ft. Lauderdale; Miami
- HI
- IL: Chicago
- LA: New Orleans
- NV: Las Vagas
- NY: New York, Rochester
- OH: Dayton
- TX: Dallas
- WA
Mexico: Guanajuato
Thailand: Bangkok
China
Food & Eating: fruit pies, coffee, trying new spots with friends, cooking
Arts & Crafts: gardening, playing piano, crocheting/crafting; drawing, dancing
Sports/Exercise: soccer, kayaking, volleyball, climbing, swimming, hiking;
Gaming: Nintendo Switch, board games, puzzles
Entertainment: TikTok (filming and watching), watching TV & movies
Miscellaneous: Baby care, learning Japanese, teaching, reading
Wander around SF.
Spending time with friends, resting/self-care.
Stay in for game nights, go out to eat, and reading by the beach!
Wake up, eat a nutritious meal, read a little, either hike or go on a bike ride, watch a movie and then sleep early enough to watch the sunrise the next morning.
When we do NOT have class, I like to: go out with friends, go to the park, or just clean-ups around my place.
Hanging out with friends at home playing games, spending alone time with my cat, and Sunday brunch or a picnic!
Nice hike, go out to eat, relax with my family and enjoy the green areas on campus with my dogs.
Farmers Markets, brunch, bonfire, or exploring a new part of the city!
Going out and exploring the city with friends or just chilling at a park.
Hanging out with friends at the Farmers' Market; trying a new restaurant; occasionally going on a hike; binge-watching a new Netflix show; going to see a movie.
United. Collaborative. Critical. Supportive. Passionate.
Communicative, instructive, open to feedback.
Community that supports each other in personal and professional moments.
Approaching everything with an equity lens and practicing open communication.
I would say we all get along in a friendly way but know the boundary of when things need to get done! We celebrate everyone's birthday, holiday get-togethers, and just hangouts.
The community of love we have built.
This team is very understanding of boundaries. We also have a lot of times for bonding and hanging out.
Our team is amazing! The people I am currently with enjoy building meaningful relationships, however, we also respect people's boundaries. We are here for each other, but we can also give space so people can do their own things!
Learning about the different ways that people approach their work. Because there is a diversity of lived experiences on our team, the strategy that each individual uses to address issues in their role is unique. I love learning about the lives of others while problem-solving with them on real-world issues.
They understand our experiences as graduate students since some folx have been through the same program.
Whenever I need help or guidance, I seek out and always receive feedback or the help needed by someone!
We truly support each other and we have a strong community.
Always feeling supported in my work and showing up as my authentic self in this job.
There is always a level of comfort and understanding with everyone and I've always felt welcomed by other senior staff members. Even though there could be divides and weird hierarchy, everyone is treated with the same level of respect regardless of being a grad student, RD, AD, etc. I genuinely feel that everyone here is passionate about serving students and advocating for them and each other as a team.
There are so many Meetups and Eventbrite opportunities to meet folks from all walks of life in the San Francisco area.
Chicana-Latina Foundation (non-profit organization)
I found community within my cohort and other Student Affairs Internship Program (SAIP) interns! Folx who are able to relate to my experience and current graduate students.
Within my Higher Education & Student Affairs (HESA) grad program here at USF as well as by connecting with other staff-of-color across campus.
USF-sponsored: volleyball team; reading club
USF Cultural Centers: end-of-year identity-based commencement committees for graduating students.
USF usually has opportunities for staff to get involved with, facilitate, and/or work on equity-based projects.