Second year plans and NCIS: Our interview with Jocelyn Bullock

Resident directors play an important role in students’ college experiences. This is the first in a series of interviews with resident directors to help students get to know them better.

The Echo: What is it like going into your second year as RD? I’m sure you had expectations coming into your first year. What’s different coming into your second year?

Jocelyn Bullock: With my first year, I didn’t know a lot of people. Coming in not knowing anyone was really hard. I wanted people to get to know me, for me to get to know them. Coming in for my second year now, it’s gonna be a little different as I already know a lot of people, so I feel a lot more comfortable. To be able to take a more active role this year is exciting and I feel a little more equipped to handle the situation.  I’m very excited about it now because last year was more of the unknown.

The Echo: What brought you to SNU?

Bullock: When I was looking at the possibility of moving to Oklahoma, I was already living in Dallas. I had just graduated from graduate school. I have a masters in counseling and certification in conflict resolution. At the time, I was working at a crisis pregnancy center that I was attending. Basically, I knew that I needed to get a change because it’s really hard work to deal with people who are considering abortion as an option. So I had been there for about two and a half years and I was like “I need a change” and just praying “God, please help me.” And so when I got an email from Chris Peterson, he told me about the position that was available as RD. I got an email from him about the opportunity to make a move, and I was like “Okay, God. If this is you, great. If not, then okay; I just beefed up my resume for the next job.” I went ahead and applied and within a month I had come up here to the campus and had a couple of interviews and already had an offer so it just worked out really well.

The Echo: Being an RD can obviously be a stressful job at times. What do you have in terms of hobbies or activities to relax?

Bullock: Sometimes being an RD can be very stressful, so one thing I really enjoy is I like to write music. I’ve written a couple songs, and because I’m passionate about pro-life issues, a lot of them have a feel, like a pro-life message. I also love to bake and cook, so usually at least once a month you’ll be able to come to my apartment and get some kind of baked good which is great because it keeps my baking skills sharp and I know a lot of the residents enjoy that time as well. I like to spend time with my boyfriend. He’s pretty great. I also like to watch NCIS, probably an abnormal amount of NCIS.

The Echo: What are some of the unique challenges and opportunities of being an RD for a freshman dorm?

Bullock: I get to do a lot of roommate mediations because a lot of times students will come in never having had to share a room or a space with people. Coming into a situation where they have a 10 by 10 room that they have to share with one other person or two other people presents some unique challenges. I get to do a lot of conflict resolution. I think a lot of time conflict has such a negative connotation, so getting to take something that has such a negative feel… It also presents an opportunity for me to live out a godly example not only through conflict but also healthy boundaries in relationships. Whenever my boyfriend’s over, more than likely the door is open just for accountability to let you know there’s more things to do with your boyfriend than things that violate the lifestyle covenant. It’s about living above reproach, a lifestyle that’s wholly acceptable and pleasing to God.

The Echo: Do you have any favorite movies?

Bullock: My family’s really big into gangster and mob movies. I love AMC’s Mob Week, Scarface, Godfather…Godfather I and II are cinematic genius in my opinion. Every Thanksgiving it comes on AMC and my family will just act like we’ve never seen it, and everyone’s in the room, silent, watching this movie. And then it will come on again and we’ll watch it again. Of course, we’ll turn it off when we pray for the food…we typically wait for a commercial to pray for the food. I also like Kill Bill and romantic comedies like Jumping the Broom and Love Actually.

The Echo: If you could eat anything for the rest of your life, what would you eat (besides Sodexo)?

Bullock: I would pick either Sour Patch Kids or Zebra Cakes. I love a good Zebra Cake. I like to eat all the icing off first, then I like to eat the top layer of cake, and then I like to have the layer of cake with the whipped stuff. And probably some water, but that’s optional.