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We are practitioners of the healing arts defining the standard for excellence in optometric education and vision care.
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Office of Student Affairs 147 Sycamore Street Pikeville, Kentucky 41501 (606) 218-5224
UPIKE’s residence life staff is committed to guiding you during the housing process through graduation. Get to know us!
Director of Residence Lifesarastrabel@upike.edu(606) 218-5228
Area Coordinator for Wickham, Condit, and Derriana Hallsbillybrittain@upike.edu(606) 218-5227
Area Coordinator for Page and Spilman Hallsdillongage@upike.edu(606) 218-5226
Area Coordinator for College Square, Kinzer, and Gillespie Hallslindsaydingman@upike.edu(606) 218-5217
Sara Strabel has been the Director of Residence Life at UPIKE since the summer of 2017. At UPIKE, her role consists of managing housing assignments, leading the Area Coordinator and Resident Assistant staff, and providing oversight to departmental initiatives.
Prior to UPIKE, Sara graduated from Carthage College in Kenosha, WI in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology in neuroscience. As an undergraduate student, Sara served as a Resident Assistant and Assistant Hall Director. It was these leadership experiences which lead Sara to discover she was not interested in working in a lab for the rest of her life so she decided to pursue a career in higher education. Since then, Sara graduated with her Master’s degree in College Student Personnel from Western Illinois University in 2013. Sara returned to her alma mater, Carthage College, where she served as a hall director until arriving in her current role at UPIKE.
When Sara is not working, you can find her around campus walking her 8 year old beagle-terrier mix, Ellie. Additionally, she enjoys learning to cook (and eating said foods), true crime tv shows, and Chicago sports, rooting for the Cubs and Blackhawks.
Billy Brittain came to UPIKE in the summer of 2019, and has served as the Area Coordinator for Wickham, Condit, and Derriana Halls since that time. In this role, Billy oversees the First-Year Community, leads and manages a Resident Assistant Staff, plans and develops trainings for campus Resident Assistants, and strives to serve students in any way he can.
Before coming to UPIKE, Billy earned a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science from West Texas A&M University. WTAMU is also where Billy learned of his desire to work in higher education, as he served as a Resident Assistant and Hall Coordinator there, and later worked in Admissions as well. Billy left the world of higher education to teach and coach soccer and football for a year, before working in the oil and gas industry. While successful in these endeavors, Billy realized that his true calling was to work in higher education, and was excited for the opportunity to join the Office of Residence Life at UPIKE. Billy is currently working on his Master’s of Business Administration at Western Governors University, and plans to pursue a doctoral level degree in higher education leadership in the future.
In Billy’s spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter and taking their Miniature Australian Shepherd, Bella, on walks around Pikeville. Billy also enjoys reading and watching anything Harry Potter related, playing the drums and singing, and watching any football or soccer game that he can.
Dillon Gage started at UPIKE in November of 2019 with the Residence Life team as an Area Coordinator for Page and Spilman Hall. He has a passion for Student Affairs and Residence Life and is excited to be leading a staff of Resident Assistants here at UPIKE! He is also motivated to continually serve as leader who actively supports students in their ongoing academic, personal and professional development.
Prior to UPIKE, Dillon started at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas as a student to complete a Bachelors of Science in Psychology. During his undergraduate career he served as a Resident Assistant and Admissions Telecounselor where he began exploring a career within Student Affairs and Residence Life. Dillon went on to start an M.Ed. in Student Affairs Practice in Higher Education at the University of Virginia where he was given the opportunity to serve in various roles within Student Affairs at both UVA and James Madison University. Dillon began pursuing a professional role within Residence Life, which ultimately brought him to UPIKE!
Dillon enjoys spending time with his wife and their new pup, Jarrett. Dillon and his wife both enjoy serving the community when given the opportunity and hope to continue a life of servitude and mission work! They both enjoy playing League of Legends and other video games, watching anything Harry Potter, and traveling to see friends and family all across the world.
Lindsay Dingman is the Area Coordinator for UPIKE’s College Square, Kinzer, and Gillespie Halls. While this community is mostly made up of upperclassmen, it also houses some freshmen in Gillespie Hall. The powerhouse of Lindsay’s zone however, is Kinzer Hall, which is where her office is located in the Lobby. Lindsay is so excited to be here to serve the UPIKE community within the Residence Halls and to be a part of the Student Affairs team! If anyone ever needs anything, her door is always open!
Before coming to UPIKE, Lindsay was living (born and raised) in Eden NY, a small town just south of Buffalo NY. Although Buffalo is Lindsay’s stomping ground, she decided to leave and attend her undergrad on the other side of New York State. Lindsay received her B.A. in English Literature/Writing with a minor in Communication from The State University of New York (SUNY) at Potsdam. Currently, she is working towards her MLIS Degree in Information and Library Science, concentrating in Academic (higher ed) Libraries, online with the University at Buffalo. Even though Lindsay is a little way from where she grew up, she so happy that she made this transition to Kentucky where she is still growing up but into the professional world.
Lindsay did not come to UPIKE alone, she brought her best friend and cat Hank with her on this journey. He is 8 years old and is a pure-bred Bombay. He transitioned well and he and Lindsay have made themselves into a little family in their little home here in Kentucky. Aside from Hank, Lindsay loves hockey and loves to sing, dance, draw/paint, go to museums/zoos, be outdoors, read, and watch all the movies and TV shows.