Narrowed down from 40 original candidates, an offer has been extended to graduate student Dirk Rodricks to fill the vacant position of Associate Director of Student Center Operations.

As an internal candidate, Rodricks, a Northeastern graduate student working in the Curry Student Center, said he went through the same process as the other candidates before he was offered the position. Though pending approval from the university, he has verbally accepted.

John Silveria, now the associate director of leadership development, formerly held the position which he vacated in December 2003.

After an interviewing process that started in February, a selection committee, headed by Director of Student Center Operations Bob Grier, chose Rodricks out of about five finalists, Rodricks said.

“I definitely feel (Rodricks) was the most accurate choice for the position,” said Karen Hudson, scheduling coordinator in the Curry Student Center (CSC). “He’s knowledgeable of the staff environment and the student body is familiar with his drive and energy. I’m confident he can handle the position.”

Rodricks, a candidate for a master’s degree in applied educational psychology, is one of two graduate students who work in the CSC. He first heard about the program as an undergraduate two years ago at a conference in Albuquerque, N. M. where he saw Grier, Associate Dean and Director of the Student Center and Activities Gail Olyha and Director of Student Activities Todd Shaver give a presentation on afterHOURS, which, at the time, was the new nightclub on campus.

While at the conference, Rodricks said their presentation sparked an interest to attend graduate school at NU —