Sarah Negovan’s senior year at NAU ended in May 2020 with a fizzle—no graduation, no big senior moments, no chance to walk the campus she loved one more time before she walked across the stage. But when the opportunity arose to return as a staffer, she jumped on it. Today, she’s an admissions processing manager, the new president of the Staff Advisory Council and happier than ever to be a Lumberjack. Get a peek into her life below.
What brought you to NAU?
I didn’t think growing up in Los Angeles would have much to do with me choosing NAU, and yet, life has this way of being one beautiful, inexplicable, continuous story. We had a family tradition of escaping the inner city each summer and camping in the Sierra Nevadas. We loved the smaller town, fresher air atmosphere, solidifying we were ‘small city folk’ who just happened to live in Los Angeles—until a little after my 13th birthday, when we had the chance to move. We chose Chino Valley, Arizona, trading L.A.’s city outskirts and 10 minutes from the beach for high desert and 10 or so chickens.
Little did I know that my love of mountains and my newfound love for Arizona would converge when looking at colleges a few years later. NAU quickly became the shining beacon: close to home, but not too close, with perfect seasons and similar mountains, trees and lakes I fell in love with as a kid. NAU’s undergrad environmental program was the perfect match to study all, and I enrolled in the Honors College, which felt like familiar territory.
Before long, NAU became not just close to home, but a second home. By the time 2019 and senior year rolled around, I ached at the prospect of leaving. Then came Spring 2020, my last semester, graduation on the horizon—and that infamous spring break. Not many of us returned to campus due to the pandemic, and the unexpected made the senioritis pangs that much stronger. I missed my peers, I missed graduation, I missed campus—I missed my NAU family.
I applied for just about every full-time staff position posted on NAU’s HR website. Three interviews, one redirect, and two offers later, I accepted a position within Admissions Processing. And here I am three years later—three years of culture improvement, so much learning on my part, an M.Ed. in educational leadership and so many friendships and connections later—managing Processing’s Transfer Credit Posting team and leading the Staff Advisory Council.
Younger Sarah didn’t have a clue what was coming!
Tell me about a day in the life of your job.
I’m always excited to peel back the curtain into admissions processing. The Transfer Credit Posting team does what one might expect: post admitted and continuing students’ transfer credits, both in- and out-of-state, and figure articulations or equivalencies for that coursework. My favorite part of the job is seeing how NAU’s evolving mission plays out in the transfer world and how we’ve worked to become more and more transfer-friendly over the years. From title-based articulation to lessened restrictions on matching coursework with NAU equivalencies, we work closely with departments to ensure students 1) don’t repeat unnecessary coursework and 2) are prepared to academically succeed at NAU.
As I’ve stepped into managing the team’s work, I love seeing us connect with campus partners, sharing information and improving processes for all. The end of this summer has us focusing intently on processing hundreds of Spring and Summer 2024 transcripts for credit posting, as well as getting our transfer rule bank ready for NAU’s switch to General Studies in Fall 2025.
Three years ago, I couldn’t tell you what transfer credit posting looked like or what transfer articulation meant. I’m forever grateful for the department taking a chance on me—and for allowing myself the same leap of faith into the then-unknown.
How and why did you get involved in SAC?
The connections and the people of NAU were what captured my heart as a student and a young professional, but processing initially felt very behind-the-scenes. I wanted to peer beyond the curtain early on, and a group like SAC—open to and representing all staff on campus—seemed like a great way to tear down silos and build bridges. SAC became my first means of meeting people in other departments, growing my institutional knowledge and keeping current on university happenings. It also happened to overlap with one of my graduate courses on higher ed advocacy and shared governance. And it clicked that being in such a council would be an awesome way to grow professionally.
I applied to be a voting member in Spring 2022 and accepted the call when vacancies came up the following year. I was elated to become a voting member and finished out the year attending meetings with extra excitement. Things were rolling, but little did I know my SAC story was about to hit hyper-speed.
It was Summer 2023, a few months after I became a voting member. We were in the forest, volunteering with City of Flagstaff’s Open Spaces program and carrying heaped trash bags when the call came: SAC needed a vice president for the following year, and leadership saw my presence, commitment and energy and told me to think about it. No pressure, it was a unique circumstance, mull it over and let them know—us processors usually appreciate that extra time. But for such an opportunity, I didn’t need it. I heard, I saw and I felt the call. I threw my name in because my gut, heart and mind all at once yelled “yes!” And then the council did, taking a chance on me and voting me in a second time.
The story is one of my favorites because it led me to where I am a year later, and it manifested some of the best friendships and partnerships I didn’t even know were possible. Most of all, it shows what can happen when 1) we embrace relentless presence and 2) we’re given those spaces and opportunities to show up as our authentic selves, in our own energies. That’s my commitment now as I lead the council and connect with staff throughout the university.
Tell me about a significant childhood memory and how it has impacted your life today.
Before little Sarah stepped out into the world, she had a strong curiosity and imagination toward it. I read widely—and by the age of nine had the growing desire to write my own books. Presently, I’m in the middle of working my way through the first book of a dystopian sci-fi/fantasy novel series, so the following memory is a strong one right now: 9-year-old me sprawled on our couch in California, with a 70-page spiral bound notebook beside me, my third-grade writer’s reference at my side and a box of crayons at my disposal. I wrote in super smudged pencil, I illustrated my heart out and I wanted to write a story that contained it all: time travel, space, dinosaurs, spies, environmentalism, knights and that doesn’t even scratch the list’s surface. Nine-year-old Sarah wanted to encompass it all. As Walt Whitman put it, she contained multitudes.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
Oddly enough, being an author or even a writer were never dream jobs of mine. It was like I knew I’d be content to have writing as a side hobby. Instead, from the age of five or six, I wanted to be Batman when I grew up.
Well, then I grew up a smidge—enough to realize becoming Batman probably wasn’t feasible, even if I was too young to use a word like “feasible.” So, I moved on to the more standard career aspirations: I wanted to be a firefighter, a veterinarian, a marine mammal expert after watching Free Willy and falling in love with orcas, and a forensic scientist, inspired by NCIS’s Abby Sciuto.
In retrospect, these roles all have a few things in common: they help, they connect and they solve problems. Well, isn’t that exactly what I do now in processing and on SAC? 😉 Maybe it’s what we each do wherever we go, in whatever we do.
What is your favorite way to spend a day off?
I love sprinkling all my favorite things into a day off, and that even includes a little bit of cleaning! Nothing makes me feel productive like to-do lists and knocking out chores, and sometimes that’s tricky to do amidst the work week. But, yes, I like traditionally fun things, too… I’m a huge staycationer, and love hanging out locally or doing day trips. This summer, I introduced my sister to the Grand Canyon and West Fork Trail, two of my favorite Arizona spots. Indoors, I love thrifting, eating out, turning in my popcorn perks at Harkins or taking up the Bookman’s café writing, buying books I don’t need and trying nearly every drink on their menu. (My favorite, so far, is their Mexican hot chocolate.)
What have you been most proud of recently?
- Our SAC voting member retreat on Aug. 1 was awesome, brimming with energy and participation beyond my wildest imagination. I glowed for days after, and I might glow all year as we carry out the work ahead.
- I’ve opened up my writer soul and heart to feedback on the novel I’ve been seriously writing on and off since 2018. (Who wants to start an NAU Staff Writing Club I can join?)
- Aside from being the neatest people, my Transfer Credit Posting team continues to reach beyond and meet other departments, give presentations and exchange knowledge that improves the collective experience. They make me proud.
What are three items on your bucket list?
- Publish a book! At least the one, but then, I hope, many more. I love NAU too much to be a full-time author, but I have a story inside me, and it won’t be contained.
- Get to the top of Humphreys Peak. I’ve put this on my 2024 bingo sheet with the hope that’ll add some pressure. I’ve gone up Elden, but Humphreys… Humphreys feels like a Flagstaff Thing™ I for sure have to do.
- Become a homeowner one day, and what a treat if it could be in this beautiful town. Until then, I say my blessings every day for a wonderful and considerate landlord.
What do you want people to know about SAC?
I want people to know we are here for them. I want people to know we see our staff, we see the improvements our institution’s made over time and we see the plentiful opportunities still waiting for us. We see SAC as the “staff voice at NAU.” Each of you has a voice; its value is beyond measure; and we want to hear it! We welcome you with wide arms at our meetings, in our newsletters and in the work we’re doing.
Our newsletters go out twice monthly, and our meetings are always 9-10 a.m. the third Thursday of each month during the academic year. Mark your calendars! Our first meeting this fall is Aug. 15, physically hosted out of the University Union, Havasupai AB in Flagstaff, but we’ll also have MS Teams as a remote option and three statewide watch parties joining in the good times.
SAC does great work, we have fun doing it and I can’t wait for you all to get involved!