About Us

DIRECTOR: DR. MARK MYERS (HE/HIM) 

ABOUT ME

I serve as Director of New Student and Family Transitions at Augusta University, where I oversee orientation, transition, and family programming for more than 1,900 incoming students and their families each year.

As a first-generation college student from rural Pennsylvania, I know what it feels like to show up somewhere and not have a roadmap. That experience is the foundation of everything I do in my role. I think about all students and their supporters (parents, families, guardians, chosen support systems) and what they need to feel prepared and confident during the transition to university life. Not every student arrives with the same resources or the same familiarity with higher education, and our work should reflect that.

My path into this work started the way it does for a lot of us: as a student leader who realized this mattered. That realization turned into a career spanning institutions in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Georgia, each one shaping how I approach my work. I hold our unit's programming to national benchmarks and best practices, with a particular alignment to CAS (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education) as the framework for how we design, assess, and improve what we do and how we do it.

I hold dual Bachelor's degrees in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Communication Arts from Allegheny College, a Master's in Higher Education Administration from Columbia College, and I recently completed my Doctorate in Educational Innovation at Augusta University. 

I am an active member of NODA (Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education) and AHEPPP (Association of Higher Education Parent/Family Program Professionals), where I currently serve on the national board as a CAS Representative. In 2024, our team received the NODA Innovative Program Award for LEAP Week, Augusta University's extended orientation experience and the 2024 Destination Augusta Tourism Partner of the Year award.

Outside of work, my husband John and I have a lab mix named Bella and a cat named Lucy. We spend most of our free time exploring Augusta's river region or planning our next home renovation project.

MEMBER OF NSFT SINCE: March 2022 

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, FAMILY PROGRAMS: MORGAN GOECKEL

ABOUT ME

I serve as the Assistant Director of Family Programs at Augusta University, where I develop family programming initiatives, teach in AU's Certificate in Leadership course, and assist with orientation!

I am a proud double bear with a Bachelor's degree in Secondary English Education as well as a Master's in Higher Education Administration from Mercer University!

I am an active member of ACPA (American College Personnel Association) where I recently served on the Georgia board (GCPA) as the Director of Communication and received the Roger B. Winston Outstanding New Professional Award.

I was drawn to a career in Higher Education after being given the opportunity to work as a graduate assistant for the Office of Campus Life at Mercer. Working with students and their families truly is my passion. I believe providing opportunities to engage and helping students feel at home on campus, will drastically change ones collegiate experience. Though I am young in the field, I am beyond excited to continue serving the community, learning more about the higher education, and developing new opportunities for campus to enjoy!

Outside of work, my fiancée Aubrey and I have a calico cat named Willow that we rescued when I was visiting family in Florida one summer! And my favorite things to do in my free time are hiking/being outside and crocheting!

MEMBER OF NSFT SINCE: May 2026

PROGRAM SPECIALIST FOR DIGITAL AND ONLINE ENGAGEMENT: MADDEN JONES

ABOUT ME

Madden has been part of the Office of New Student & Family Transitions since 2022, growing through a series of roles — Student Coordinator, Student Project Manager, and Senior Intern — into his current position as Program Specialist. He works across the heart of the new-student experience: shaping our orientation curriculum, leading our leadership programming and the curriculum that prepares our orientation leaders, and building the online welcome and post-orientation D2L modules that guide students before and after they arrive on campus.

Much of Madden’s work has centered on connection beyond campus. Partnering with local businesses, nonprofits, and community organizations across the greater Augusta area, he helped build the experiences behind programs like LEAP Week and Parent & Family Weekend — introducing thousands of new students and their families not just to Augusta University, but to the city they’ll call home. For him, those partnerships were never only logistics; they were a way of showing students that real fulfillment comes from investing in the people and places around you.

That same belief now carries him into medicine. A medical student at the Medical College of Georgia, Madden sees a throughline between guiding a nervous first-year through their first week on campus and one day caring for a patient who has nowhere else to turn: both are about presence, and about showing people that someone sees them. Whether he’s preparing a class of orientation leaders or designing the digital touchpoints that welcome students into their first year, the belief is the same — real connection isn’t a backdrop to the work. It’s the work.

MEMBER OF NSFT SINCE: December 2022

OFFICE MANAGER: POSITION POSTING SOON!

ABOUT THE ROLE

This position manages the daily administrative support operations of the Office of New Student & Family Transitions, including (a) planning, organizing, and managing the administrative staffing resources including the orientation reservation system, (b) serves as receptionist for the office operations including direct customer service to prospective students and their family members, (c) assists with budget planning and oversight, including purchasing and payroll for orientation leaders; and (d) supports program/event management for orientation, family weekend, and other programs managed by the office.  This position supervises 2 student assistant employees (e.g., recruits, hires, trains, manages, oversees time and absence), serves as the Director’s administrative assistant (e.g., coordinates Director’s schedule and other staff schedules), works on various projects and tasks, and is responsible for many aspects of the budget, including planning, oversight, and purchasing.  The position also manages our employee records. 

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, ORIENTATION & TRANSITION PROGRAMS:

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Assistant Director of Orientation and Transition Programs is a key leader within the Office of New Student & Family Transitions, playing a central role in Augusta University's student retention initiatives and Strategic Enrollment Management plan. This position provides strategic vision and oversight for all new student orientation and transition programs, collaborating with campus and community partners as well as developing student leaders who guide new students through the transition to university life. The Assistant Director develops and implements comprehensive, data-driven orientation experiences and communication strategies that prepare students for academic and personal success, foster belonging from day one, and strengthen long-term retention.