Dana Smith: Guiding Students with Grace and Grit

Published: August 12, 2025

Author: Liz Dowell

As Greenville University's new Assistant Director of Student Conduct and Area Coordinator, Dana Smith '19 brings faith, empathy, and fierce commitment to her growing campus community.

For Dana Smith, the beginning of a new academic year doesn’t just mean new students, new responsibilities, or even a new title. It means recommitting to the calling that brought her back to Greenville University in the first place—a calling she once resisted.

“I told the Lord, if you want me to do this, You’re going to have to push me out of the job I’m in—and You’re going to have to provide financially,” Dana said, reflecting on the unexpected moment four years ago when Ross Baker and a former boss, Johnny Hinton, approached her at a GU graduation ceremony. At the time, she had no plans of returning. But God was already stirring something in her spirit.

Now serving as the assistant director for student conduct and area coordinator for University Hall and campus houses, Dana oversees more than 248 students. It’s a role filled with challenges—but also, she says, with purpose.

“It’s a lot of responsibility,” she admitted. “But I see it as an opportunity to walk with students, to challenge them, and to help them discover their God-given calling.”

FROM RA TO ROLE MODEL

Dana's passion for student development began during her own time at GU, when she was encouraged by faculty to apply for an resident assistant position. One professor even emailed her personally after she deleted the campus-wide application. That nudge changed everything.

“I loved being the person who had the answer—or who could help them find the answer,” she said. “Some of my residents are grown now, married, with kids. But I still call them mine. That never goes away.”

That spirit of ownership and compassion now fuels her leadership on campus. Whether she’s helping students navigate conflicts, mentoring upperclassmen, or hosting reflective events like “Rooted” (formerly “PPP: Prayer, Pajamas & Positivity”), Dana’s mission is clear: to foster transformation, not just behavior management.

“Fun isn’t the goal,” she said. “We want events that are intentional, educational, and rooted in calling students to something greater.”

FAITH AT THE CENTER

Dana doesn’t separate her leadership from her faith. She draws her strength directly from it. She keeps a dedicated prayer room in her home. She leans into Scripture daily to sustain her through emotionally taxing seasons—especially August, when student move-ins begin and the demands never seem to pause.

“When I feel myself leading from emotion or exhaustion, I know I’m disconnected,” she said. “So I go back to the Source. I fall on my face before God and let Him restore me.”

She also leads a personal ministry, Dana’s Desk, and serves her church as a pastoral administrator. But even in the middle of a packed schedule, Dana doesn’t hesitate to pour into others—because it’s that same pouring that refills her.

“I get strength from feeding students who are hungry for the Word,” she said. “Being in spaces where students want to be fed? That gives me life.”

CALLING STUDENTS HIGHER

For Dana, success isn’t about filling seats at events. It’s about forming character. She speaks candidly about the challenges students face—especially those related to accountability, community living, and self-awareness.

“Our job is to help them unlearn bad behavior and hold them accountable to who they said they’d be when they signed our lifestyle and conduct agreements,” she said. “Grace is already written into the process. So when we hold them accountable, we’re just helping them return to the commitment they made.”

She approaches that work not with condemnation, but with conviction—helping students realize that their decisions not only affect themselves, but also everyone around them.

“Be selfless,” she tells them. “When you’re screaming in your room at 2 a.m. over a video game, think about the student sleeping in the room below you. You wouldn’t wake your mom up after she worked an eight-hour shift. So why would you wake your neighbor?”

IF SHE COULD GO BACK

Looking back, Dana would tell her younger self to listen more, to lean into the wisdom of her professors, and to embrace growth even when it feels uncomfortable.

“I was 23 when I came to GU, and I thought I had it all figured out,” she laughed. “But I didn’t. I’d tell myself to be open. To receive feedback. And to show up—not just for yourself, but for others, too.”

That advice, spoken now with the clarity of experience and the grace of hindsight, is precisely what she offers to students each day.

Through hallway check-ins, tough conversations, late-night emergencies, and quiet prayers, Dana Smith leads with compassion, conviction, and a deep desire to see students succeed and become who they were created to be.

“I’m here because I said “yes” to my assignment,” she said. “And every day, I get to help students say “yes” to theirs.”