Jennifer Creighton said she rarely sees her husband because of the 40 hours a week she puts in as the ASUO accounting coordinator.
But Creighton said she sticks around for 40 hours because she likes her ASUO role. She devotes both time and energy to the job not only because students are paying her salary, she said, but because she enjoys seeing those students succeed.
Creighton began her work in the ASUO office four years ago as an intern. Only recently has she moved from a classified ASUO staff member to an officer of administration who supervises the other classified staff members.
One of her more crucial responsibilities is ensuring that the student incidental fee is allocated correctly throughout the year. She helps the members of the Programs Finance Committee, student senators and the ASUO controllers carry out the duties of their jobs, which Creighton said brings new challenges every day.
“Some things you can juggle through the day, and some things you have to drop everything and just deal with,” she said.
The 24-year-old native Oregonian said she is committed to the incidental fee, which is $168.75 per student per term, and has an understanding of students because she was a student her first two years working in the ASUO. That stint gave her knowledge of the issues that are important to students.
From aiding the Panhellenic Council in balancing its accounts to helping law groups get a computer, Creighton said her job allows her to interact with a variety of different people.
But when she started out as an intern in the controller’s office at age 20, Creighton said she and the head controller, Christal Colwell, were left to pick up the pieces in what Creighton described as a “real chaotic and unorganized area.” By her second year, her accounting position was created to help student groups become more accountable for their actions.
Creighton now trains the new controllers so the incidental fee is used effectively. But she doesn’t only deal with the controllers. Creighton said she works well in her daily interactions with ASUO President Jay Breslow and Vice President Holly Magner.
“We have a really good line of communication,” Creighton said.
Creighton’s accomplishments include helping to implement the stipend model during PFC budget hearings. The stipend model was created last year to standardize stipends for all ASUO programs, meaning some groups’ stipends increased while others decreased. Creighton said she is proud of the increase in the amount of information given to student groups in their budget packets for PFC budget hearings.
Creighton also said the senators have a better understanding of the incidental fee, and the controllers have tightened up their work so they are prepared in case of an audit. Not only that, Creighton said, but communication between the senators and controllers has improved during her time in the ASUO.
Sen. Jennifer Greenough, who works with Creighton, said when programs make mistakes or problems occur, Creighton puts in the extra time and work to handle the situation.
But Creighton said there is always more that can be done. She said she would like to inform every student on where the incidental fee is distributed, and what services are available to students. These services range from free legal services and athletic tickets to paying for Multicultural Center speakers and Lane Transit District free bus passes.
Sen. Mary Elizabeth Madden said Creighton’s dedication and love for students and the student fee allows her to communicate well in the constantly changing ASUO environment. Madden also said Creighton is able to adapt to a new ASUO staff every year.
“The wealth of information she has is because she has been there for so long, and she is constantly working to try to improve the budget process,” Madden said.
Madden began working with Creighton last summer, and she said she would not have survived the PFC process as PFC chairwoman if it had not been for Creighton.
“She knew where all the information was from last year’s process,” Madden said. “She pointed me in the right direction when there were things that we needed.”
Senate President Peter Watts said when he met Creighton as a new senator two years ago, she helped him adjust to the system.
“I think Jay [Breslow] felt comfortable putting Jennifer in that position because he felt students could trust her,” Watts said. “She is very positive, and a lot of people use her as a resource.”
Watts said Creighton’s four years of experience allow her to answer people’s questions, and she is such a hard worker because she enjoys and cares about the people she works with and her job.
“I go to Jennifer Creighton when I need information or when I have questions about the Green Tape Notebook and state laws,” Watts said.
Creighton graduated from the University with an accounting major and minors in economics, political science and planning, public policy and management (PPPM). She plans to apply for her master’s degree in PPPM.
“I will eventually want to leave here,” Creighton said. “But what keeps me here is a love for the incidental fee and the joy of working with students and watching them accomplish their goals.”