Recognizing Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant Tyler Stoff '15

In this series, the Rockefeller Center features our Student Program Assistants, student staff who contribute significantly to the success of the Center’s events, programs, and activities.

With regular programs for students and community members alike, the Rockefeller Center is a busy place. Tyler Stoff '15 highlights news and updates from the Center in easy to follow places. Those who have attended one of the Rockefeller Center’s co-curricular programs know that it emphasizes Kolb’s experiential learning style theory, which essentially states that effective learning takes place when a person has a concrete experience followed by reflection, which leads to analysis that can then be turned into experience for future situations. The Center regularly shares students’ reflections and insights from their learning experiences to the broader community in addition to program summaries and other local news. This is where Tyler Stoff, Student Program Assistant for Communications and Student Outreach, does his work.

Student Program Assistant for Communications and Student Outreach Tyler Stoff '15. Photo by Thanh V. Nguyen.

Tyler’s primary responsibility is managing the Rockefeller Center’s public avenues for news and updates. This is primarily the Center’s blog, where the Rockefeller Center archives a wealth of news and student experiences. Since starting in his position, Tyler has published over three hundred posts on the Rockefeller Center’s activities in addition to contributing to the Center’s annual report. Beyond managing the blog, Tyler edits and produces the "This Week at Rocky" email, a weekly digest of student opportunities that is sent to Dartmouth students every Sunday evening. Through this email, he ensures that the Rockefeller Center’s upcoming events, program deadlines, and internship opportunities are highlighted for students in a clear and regular manner. "[Tyler’s] initiative is responsible for significant improvements to the Center’s student communications in the past year," says Elizabeth Celtrick, Assistant Director for Co-Curricular Programs. Under his influence, "This Week at Rocky" has been redesigned to be even more extensive and comprehensive.

A senior usually fills Tyler’s position, and it requires strong communication and copy-editing skills as well as the ability to respond in a timely manner to frequent submissions and requests from fellow staff members. Tyler sometimes produces as many as three posts a day. "What is really special about Tyler is that he is completely invested in the work he does for Rocky and takes a lot of pride in his work. He is utterly reliable. To say that I have come to heavily depend upon him when it comes to the Center’s communications, would be an understatement to say the least," says Celtrick, Tyler’s supervisor. Tyler edits the content in accordance with the Rockefeller Center Style Guide, a document he rewrote over the summer to meet the Center’s current needs. As editor of the blog, he manages and edits press releases, student and staff submissions, and these documents’ release schedule. Reflecting on his role, Tyler prefers to see himself as a “curator” of the Rockefeller Center’s digital footprint. "[I] certainly don’t write every word but rather curate the content and shape of [what is released]," says Tyler.

Tyler’s curation of the Center’s communications and student outreach has had a significant impact on him academically and professionally. Tyler notes that he has become a much better writer. The ability to express ideas clearly and think analytically are two skills which are essential to his position and ones that have integrated well with his Government major. Since joining the Rockefeller Center student staff, Tyler has produced clear and engaging content on a daily basis, further developing skills which will help him professionally. Tyler’s passion for his work is more than evident and one of the things that allows him to execute his position so well. Celtrick comments, "The level of professionalism and commitment he demonstrates in his work truly embodies the Rockefeller Center’s values." Tyler also sees the possibility of furthering this passion after graduation by working in some capacity with writing and content curation. Tyler also believes this work has led him to become much better at working with people in teams. His work requires him to interact with all members of the Center’s staff. Tyler specifically loves this aspect of the job as working with such talented staff allows him to bring people’s specialties together to produce a clear and accurate narrative of the Rockefeller Center’s activities. Working on the Rockefeller Center team has been a great professional experience, according to Tyler. He notes that the position "has taught me so much about Rocky’s reach because I’m really able to see the big picture in a way that a lot of other student staff don’t get to see."

-Written by Crandalyn Jackson '15, Rockefeller Center Student Program Assistant