At Daemen, Ian James is driven to support each student-athlete on their road to earning a degree.
“I am there, through any ups and downs,” said James, a student-athlete success and community engagement coordinator.”I’m the guy who tries to make sure they are staying successful in their academics.”
As a former student-athlete at the college level, James aims to provide the support to others that helped him.
In his role, James also stays in frequent contact with faculty and directs student-athletes to resources on campus.
He also works to engage with communities off-campus, collaborating with coaches to establish fundraising and volunteer opportunities.
In the ring
James earned his bachelor’s degree in community mental health with a minor in counseling from the University at Buffalo.
There, he competed on the wrestling team.
During his senior year, James completed an internship focused on diversity and inclusion under a strength coach.
“In doing this, I gained more of a grasp on higher education,” he said, “and working in college athletics.”
From there, James went on to earn his master’s degree at UB in higher education administration.
While completing his degree, he learned of a career opportunity in residence life at Daemen.
He was immediately drawn to the college’s community-focused values and took a position as a residence life and career services coordinator, where he worked to support students through disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“My biggest goal was to create connections with students,” James said. “I wanted to better understand their needs—hear them out—and be a supportive figure for them.”
Looking back, “We prevailed, we did great, and made it through the spring semester,” he said. “We worked diligently through the next year to ensure our students’ needs were put first.”
James said he learned transferable skills that have served him well in his new position at the college.
Outside of work, James volunteers at youth wrestling clubs.
“While providing kids with a foundation of wrestling, I show them what skills they can learn from it and how being committed to it can positively affect their lives,” he said.