How one CMU leader connects students with Mt. Pleasant

For Rob Zinger-Heath, the professional frontier feels familiar, even comfortable. 

This is not an accident, as part of sound organizational structure is to have employees at the boundaries, pushing new initiatives and testing new pathways to success. 

A large part of Zinger-Heath’s role at Central Michigan University (CMU) has been to do exactly that.

As the assistant director of orientation and academic support in CMU’s Office of Student Success, Zinger-Heath helps students feel at home, beginning with their first days on campus.

This philosophy has led Zinger-Heath to look for novel solutions to the challenges CMU students face. “I have found myself in unique roles during the pandemic or during new enrollment initiatives,” he continues. “I tell my students that sometimes it’s just the things you say ‘yes’ to that end up being paramount to your personal growth and to your career.

“I have found myself in unique roles during the pandemic or during new enrollment initiatives,” he continues. “I tell my students that sometimes it’s just the things you say ‘yes’ to that end up being paramount to your personal growth and to your career.”

As universities continue to be challenged by the modern academic landscape, the effects of those challenges are sometimes felt by students. Zinger-Heath works to ensure that is not the case at CMU. 

On his methodology, he says, “CMU has to stay relevant to students’ evolving needs. [The university] has to be nimble in working with transfer students from community colleges, as well as preparing all our graduates for careers that don’t even exist yet. We have great processes in place to meet those challenges and have even put a financial guarantee behind the opportunities we offer students if they take advantage via the Central Career Guarantee.”

Zinger-Heath’s initiatives have presently and tangibly benefited students, as he has worked to grow the CMU Family and Friends Weekend. In partnering with 11 local businesses and gathering over 2,100 RSVPs to encourage CMU students and their families to eat and shop locally, Zinger-Heath bridged the gap between students and the Mt. Pleasant community. 

“I think it is a win when the campus and community can look out for one another, but especially when we are onboarding students because they need to know what is out there and their families are going to be making trips to Mt. Pleasant for the next few years looking for places to stay, eat, and shop.” he says. “We get to support one another, and watch people realize how much fun and beauty there is in this community.”

Professional roles are often shaped by personal experiences. For Zinger-Heath, helping students feel more assured and connected during their time at CMU is a way of giving back; as a former CMU graduate student, Zinger-Heath’s time at the university was made better by the people around him. 

Now, he’s able to give back from the other side. 

“I was a first-generation college student, and I always say I got through college, but with a few bumps and bruises,” he shares. “I still consider myself fortunate to have mentors and services that helped me reach my goals. Knowing that our programs are helping students who are having the same experience is very gratifying.”

Zinger-Heath’s passion for helping students extends beyond the professional and academic realm; he cares deeply about the Mt. Pleasant community, and he wants students to find themselves at home in it.

“Find a mentor for your professional growth, but find community for your personal growth and if you want to fall in love with [Mt. Pleasant],” he advises. “One of my mentors told me that, ‘People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.’ I think that especially holds true in smaller communities.”