News

Warner hits home run in housing

Jake Warner says he enjoys his new job as the assignments coordinator, placing students in specific residence hall rooms. Warner joined the Office of Housing and Residential Life after working 12 years as a producer at Fox Sports Radio. Warner graduated as a CAPA student from the University of La Verne with a bachelor’s degree in organizational management in May 2014. / photo by Michelle Leon
Jake Warner says he enjoys his new job as the assignments coordinator, placing students in specific residence hall rooms. Warner joined the Office of Housing and Residential Life after working 12 years as a producer at Fox Sports Radio. Warner graduated as a CAPA student from the University of La Verne with a bachelor’s degree in organizational management in May 2014. / photo by Michelle Leon

Jolene Nacapuy
Sports Editor

From serving his country to serving his students, Jake Warner is there to help those who need it.

Warner started Dec. 1 as the assignments coordinator for housing and residential life.

An assignments coordinator not only assigns dorm rooms to students, but also assists them to get into rooms and with their billing and meal plans.

“The staff and I take care of the needs of students like a customer service-based job and work together to make it like a home atmosphere,” Warner said. “We try to make sure all residents are happy and feel comfortable here and have the La Verne experience.”

Before settling in La Verne, Warner was in the Navy from 1995 to 1998. He traveled around the world and loved the experience. He believes it made him a better person.

“It was kind of like college where you have your brothers and sisters and sail over together and experience a lot of things together,” Warner said.

Growing up in a rough neighborhood in Apple Valley in an environment where drugs and violence were common, Warner said sports, mainly basketball, kept him out of trouble. He used it as an escape from the world around him.

“It was always fun to put on a jersey and pretend and wish that I had a jumper,” Warner said.

“My friends and I would be Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) or even Larry Bird.”

“It was cheap and easy to play basketball because you could always find a hoop, five friends and chip in for a ball in 110 degree weather,” Warner said.

In 2000, Warner landed his first radio job at Westwood One, a syndication company for NFL radio. At the time, he was still in radio school at the Academy of Radio and TV Broadcasting in Huntington Beach.

“I’ll never forget when they called me, it was just an awesome feeling because all that hard work paid off, and it was not just a dream,” Warner said.

He has worked with more than 50 different personalities and said that once you are in the business, it is a full circle from there.

As a huge sports fan, interning for Vin Scully was a dream.

“To be able to go from the stands to right behind Vin Scully was a surreal feeling and to be able to direct him was crazy,” Warner said. “It’s because of Chick Hearn and Vin Scully that got me into loving sports even more. You just listen to them and you feel like you’re there, even when you’re not.”

While interning, Warner managed to get a job with Fox Sports Radio and worked with them for 12 years.

“I got to do a lot of cool things like go to the NBA Finals and work at NASCAR races,” Warner said. “I also learned a lot of new things in the sports industry and radio as well.”

Warner worked for the Dodgers for two seasons, in 2003 and 2004.

“I was able to fly with them, be in the same hotel and hang out with them and it was amazing,” Warner said. “To be around your favorite baseball team is just a feeling that you can’t describe.”

Being in the sports industry was a natural environment for him and to be around sports related things just sparked him into knowing that this is what he loves to do.

With that, Warner keeps a list of ballparks he has been to on his iPhone and said that it is on his bucket list to go to all of them in the United States. He has been to 17 ballparks since 1994.

“Wrigley Field is my favorite park because it’s like old school baseball, then comes Fenway,” he said. “Dodger Stadium comes next in my top three favorites because it’s the typical baseball atmosphere and I love it.”

Even growing up knowing that he could not play, that did not stop him from being around something that he loves.

“I knew at a young age that even though I had bad knees and asthma that I loved sports,” Warner said. “Even though I knew I couldn’t play as well, I just wanted to be around sports all the time.”

If he could put his favorite sports in order it would be basketball, baseball and then football. His favorite teams are the Lakers, Dodgers and the Chargers.

When he is not enjoying a sports event with his family, he will sure be at events at ULV. Warner shows Leo Pride everywhere he goes.

Warner, 38, is married with two daughters and graduated cum laude from La Verne with a bachelor’s degree in organizational management in spring 2014.

Even as a CAPA student, Warner said he did not feel any different. The faculty and staff were welcoming.

“Housing took a chance on me, especially coming out of the sports business and Juan (Regalado), Eugene (Shang) and Nancy Tran, I love them like family,” Warner said. “They’re really good to me and without them, I would not be here at all and I can’t thank them enough for that.”

With an opening at the beginning of the academic year, Warner made a career change and decided to apply at his alma mater, ultimately landing him the job.

“We’re excited to have him with us on staff and very lucky,” associate dean of students Juan Regalado said. “He’s a really good person with a lot of insights and knowledge.”

As someone with no housing experience, he was trusted to take on the job.

“One of the things right off the bat that I could see from him is he’s really committed to La Verne and what La Verne offers students and he’s been a great addition to the staff,” Shang, associate director of housing and residential life, said.

Warner constantly interacts with the students, as well as the faculty and enjoys working here at the family friendly environment, which he appreciates.

“He has such good interactions with everyone and very passionate in everything he sets his mind to,” Regalado said. “He takes pride in La Verne and we’re lucky to take advantage of that by hiring him.”

Jolene Nacapuy can be reached at jolene.nacapuy@laverne.edu.

Jolene Nacapuy
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