Essential Piece of the Puzzle

Few staff members can boast the kind of achievements that SRWC Interim Assistant Director, Programs Chris Huebner can. In his five years of working at the SRWC, Chris has boosted countless existing programs and events while creating nearly 30 new ones. He’s also been essential in building the foundations of a reliable student-staff team that keep the SRWC running with great efficiency. As he explained, his desire to make a positive impact and encourage wellness are the main factors behind these huge strides.

Chris has a strong background in recreation, having studied and worked in recreation in Colorado, Missouri and Texas. After leading several outdoor adventure and other recreational programs across the country, he seized the opportunity to work at Long Beach State in 2014.

“I saw the chance to build something great,” he said. “All the elements were already here, I just solidified them and continue to maximize our resources to create the best possible experience for the students we serve.”

Chris is especially proud of the outdoor adventure program and Beach Balance, both of which have seen dramatic improvements in both quality and student participation by the thousands under his leadership. In these programs, as well as the many others he oversees, student-run sustainability is a key goal.

“At the end of the day, we want to see students teaching students, and I believe we’ve seen much more of that in the past few years,” he explained. “ASI’s vision statement, ‘keeping students first,’ means that our programs should be run not only for students, but by students. Having a strong student-staff to rely on here at the SRWC shows that we are staying true to that goal."

Chris enjoys working at the SRWC not just for the work environment, but also because of the effect his work has on others. In his words, “Being able to improve the quality of life of others, while teaching them new things, is what makes working here so great.” It’s impossible to deny that his work does exactly that.

Christopher Huebner was awarded the Essential Piece of the Puzzle during the April ASI employee assembly. As a part of ASI’s commitment to uplifting customer service, each month all full-time staff participates and votes in this monthly employee of the month program.