If Theo Campomanes sees you, he will say hi. It’s as simple as that. Where he might see you, however, is much less certain.

He may be sitting behind the front desk of Harley Hall. He may be taking prospective students and families on a campus tour. He may be headed to his University 101 class. He might even be lifting at the ShipRec – and is quick to tell you he can bench press 245 pounds.

“Being a presence and known off campus really fills me with delight knowing that people feel positively about me enough. They want to approach me, say hi, and I love that interaction,” Campomanes said. “It really is a filling feeling knowing that there are people [who] finally want to talk to me.” 

Less than two years ago, when Campomanes came to Shippensburg University in the fall of 2022, he would have gone out of his way to avoid saying hi.

“After every class, it was either just go to the gym or just go straight to my room,” Campomanes said.

With the end of his sophomore year just days away, Campomanes is now a well-respected student leader in the world of Student Ambassadors, Residence Life and First-Year Experience, and he was recently inducted as a member of Kappa Sigma; earlier this month, he was presented with the Peer Anchor of the Year Award at the Student Life Awards.

When I ask Campomanes about his University 101 class, he lights up. He starts running through the class list and sharing anecdotes for several of his students, including their alphabetical food names given during a class icebreaker – he’s Toast Theo, by the way.

Connor Beck is “an extension of the extroverted side of me.”

Aidan Schlegel is “another extension of me in terms that he is a bit more on the quieter side, but he is very bright.”

He and professor John Bloom “like to describe ourselves as a dynamic duo.”

Zoe Barahona “stood out amongst all of them as well in the sense that she wasn't afraid to speak her mind.”

Campomanes continued for at least five minutes, mentioning several other students, and as he said, “Oh my gosh. I could talk about these kids forever.”

“There's a lot of things that motivate me. I think just the wellness of other students drives me,” Campomanes said. “Seeing how much I can make an impact on whether or not a student really commits their decision to attend their four years here or follow in my footsteps and want to become, whether it be a Student Ambassador, RA, Peer Anchor. I've had students say they also want to take on all three.”

And several of his students don’t just want to take on the roles Campomanes has – they’re doing it. Beck has joined Student Ambassadors and will be a Peer Anchor in the fall. Schlegel applied to be an RA and will be supporting students in Harley Hall this fall.

“Theo impacted my life in such a positive way,” Zoe Barahona, one of Campomanes’ University 101 students, said in her submission for his Student Life Award nomination. “He's extremely passionate about what he does and went miles to help us in any type of way. He has since then been a great friend and a great person to rely on.”

Throughout his first year at SU, Campomanes saw himself in several of his peers who held student leadership roles across campus, and he aimed to emulate them. Victoria Glatt, his Peer Anchor; Skylar Walder, fellow student ambassador and Asian American Pacific Islander Organization (AAPIO) officer; and Jeremy Satyawan Putra, also a student ambassador and AAPIO officer.

“Theo's leadership has flourished like a flower. When he came in as a first year, he was this eager little freshman who just wanted to explore what being in student leadership meant,” Walder said. “Theo has taken advantage of every opportunity that has been presented to him and he continues to learn about himself and what he wants to be involved in on campus.” 

There have been moments when Campomanes’ passion for supporting other students have gotten in the way of his own success. 

“{I} really couldn't find that in between of student, worker and just human – even to the point of thinking about transferring. But just allowing myself to hit that restart button and really plan out how I want to go about my future definitely helped me,” Campomanes said.

Looking ahead, Campomanes will be leaving the RA position in the fall and will be moving off-campus, but knows he will maintain relationships with many of his current residents and former University 101 students – and will meet a new class this August.

No matter which roles Campomanes continues to hold in his remaining time at Shippensburg, he will always teach his students the importance of finding your community on campus.

“Finding community is where you learn to grow as a person rather than a student. If you were to tell [me as a first-year student] ‘in a year, you will take on all these jobs, leadership positions, there will be people saying hi to you as you walk to class,’ he would probably cry. And not happy tears – he’d be terrified,” Campomanes said. 

“Being a part of so many of these communities – it’s like one big warm hug.”

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