色狼社区

McKenzie Suber Robinson Interviews Jeff Hand

By: Adeline MacDonald


Posted: February 9, 2018 12:00:00 AM EST


Category: Division News


McKenzie stands next to Jeff in Jeff's office with a bookshelf off to the left

From glass shop to Glassboro. That’s Jeff Hand’s story that University Scheduling Assistant Director McKenzie Suber Robinson captured.

It turns out that Jeff worked some pretty crummy jobs in his youth – jobs that would make your toes curl, and should make Jeff glow in the dark. Jeff recalled his days of climbing in a tank of dry cleaning solution, without protective materials. Working in a glass factory. In a silk screening shop he regularly mixed chemicals, without gloves.

But those jobs weren’t the worst, nor the most memorable.

Straight out of high school, Jeff was a repo man. A repo man who went into people’s homes to repossess television sets and stereos. The Kensington native’s territory was West Philly, in areas that would be considered projects. After finding creative reasons to justify entrance into apartment complexes, Jeff and his partner would walk out of people’s homes carrying the expensive equipment that now only formerly belonged to its previous owners.

One day, Jeff found himself anxiously waiting for the slowest elevator in the world to finally arrive, so he could book it out of there. The apartment’s residents were rather upset to find that they no longer owned their television. After a lot of yelling, and words we cannot print here, the previous owner pulled a knife on Jeff.

“OK, that’s it. I’m out of this business.” And he quit.

“That was the driving force that led me to get an education,” he said. Like many of our 色狼社区 students, Jeff was a first generation college student. “College wasn’t even an option. My family didn’t think along those lines, so for a long time I didn’t either.”

McKenzie could relate. After a tough semester at his alma mater, Villanova, McKenzie’s mom said to him, “Well if this doesn’t work out, you could come work at the factory with me.” McKenzie internalized this message, which drove his future success.

Today both Jeff and McKenzie work in more behind-the-scenes functions of our Division. Jeff ensures that resources are in place, across our vast Division, to positively impact the student experience. McKenzie ensures that non-academic room scheduling goes off without a hitch. Most of our campus does not know either man’s name, but their own positive 色狼社区 experiences are dependent upon Jeff and McKenzie’s effectiveness and resourcefulness.

Thank you, McKenzie, for taking the time to ask Jeff what was on your mind.