Finding My Place on Campus
By Julian Dancel
Leaving my small hometown of Murrieta for college in San Francisco was one of the scariest things I’d ever done. I didn’t know anyone at SFSU. I was the first in my tight-knit family to move away. I wasn’t even sure how I’d fit in. But all that changed during move-in week at Mary Ward Hall.
That’s where I met the first of many people who would make this big, unfamiliar place feel like home. I was setting up my speakers with a new track when the guy across the hall played the exact same song. We both cracked up, introduced ourselves and within days we were making our own music in our rooms.
That spontaneous connection sparked a friendship that lasted my entire time at SFSU — and it was just the beginning.
Each year brought a new room, new roommates and new perspectives. Late-night study sessions in the Mary Park Lounge, basketball marathons at Mashouf Wellness Center, shared meals at Monarca — those everyday moments created bonds that extended far beyond campus borders. And the convenience of on-campus living allowed me to fully immerse myself in the SFSU experience. Classes were a five-minute walk away, the J. Paul Leonard Library was my second home and the campus felt like a self-contained world where opportunities for growth were around every corner.
That sense of belonging deepened even more when I started working in the Student Housing Office — a job I landed by chance. I’d applied before move-in, then happened to meet a housing coordinator at a regional reception in San Diego. She remembered my name (thanks to a student ID number full of zeroes), and a week later, I was working in the very office that had helped me find a place to live.
I stayed in that role for three years. It wasn’t always easy — especially fielding calls from anxious parents — but I loved helping students navigate a process that had been so important in my life. That job also introduced me to the senior business analyst in our department. We bonded over sports, and eventually he invited me to assist his team in Financial Services. That aligned perfectly with my Finance major and led to my first full-time position after graduation.
I’ve been with the department ever since. Today, as marketing and engagement coordinator for University Housing, I get to combine my love of strategy, data and community — all in service of helping new students find their place here, just like I did.