Get To Know: Cassie Govert, Residence Life Community Specialist, North Hall

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Prior to joining the Division of Student Affairs as a residence life community specialist for North Hall, Cassie Govert attended IUPUI for her undergraduate degree, where she was a resident assistant at the Riverwalk Apartments. Govert is passionate about extending learning beyond the classroom environment and into the residence halls, specifically with integrating social justice education into residential communities. Get to know her in this Q&A.

What is the best part about being a residence life community specialist?

Supervising RAs and getting to see how much they develop during their time in the role is really one of the greatest parts of being a residence life community specialist. We also just have a really great group of people working in HRL right now. I have such fond memories of working with our team on projects like Tower move-out last year, where we had the infamous Lamp Day -- making hundreds of lamps -- and tracking so many student items. Also, getting the experience of working with residential curriculum and leaning into the educator aspect of student affairs is something that really motivates me. We get a lot of opportunities to pursue other passions -- I’m currently co-coordinating our Green Dot Bystander Intervention team with Christine Kung’u, which is a passion area I have alongside housing.

If you could star in a movie, what movie would it be?

This is tough -- I’m not a huge movie person. I’d probably have to say “Hairspray” because it’s both a movie and a musical, and for the longest time in high school, it was one of my goals to eventually perform as Tracy Turnblad in a production of “Hairspray.” That character was really an idol for me growing up as a plus-size woman, and I just love the music and energy of the whole musical.

What is your favorite thing to cook?

It really depends. One of my strongest go-to meals my first year working full time was a chicken pesto pasta because you could add whatever -- leftover tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, etc. -- you had and pretty much make everything with one pot and pan. It’s a budget friendly and simple option. I also love baking and particularly enjoy trying to perfect different chocolate chip cookie recipes. 

Where is your favorite place to go on campus?

I think one of my favorite places on campus has to be Wood Fountain. I really love it as an outdoor spot to hang out, and it’s so pretty. When I was a student here, I loved studying in the law school because it was so quiet, had a food spot and just generally had a studious vibe.

What is your favorite animal and why?

For the longest time it was turtles and American bison, because those are just two creatures that are who they are. They’re just so unique and cute in their own respect. But after adopting a cat last May, I’d have to say I’m a pretty big cat fan. They’ve got their quirks that keep life interesting.

If you had to listen to one album for the rest of your life, what would it be?

This one is hard because my music taste is so dependent on the day. But I’d have to say “The Pinkprint” by Nicki Minaj. It came out during my first year of undergrad, and it was one of the only CDs I had. So when I got my first car I would play it constantly driving to and from home. I memorized the order of the songs and most of the lyrics, and there’s just really a song for any vibe you’re feeling. Now that I pretty much just stream music, I think my CD of “The Pinkprint” ended up in the HRL Beast (the big van with the jaguar) for shopping trips with RAs.

What does a perfect weekend look like for you?

A perfect weekend is one with a balance of having some social plans and some down time. So, ideally, a couple hours for disc golf with our friends’ disc golf group or a hike somewhere, dinner and games with my pandemic pod, watching a Formula 1 race on Sunday morning and having time to play “The Sims” or paint my nails.