The small gray board in the corner of Martha Swanson’s office is nearly full, littered with faded Final Four buttons, ticket stubs from various Georgetown events and countless nametags. Lanyards of staff admission badges from this fall’s taping of “Hardball” and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama’s speech hang in bunches on the side of the board, a stark contrast to the colorful Mardi Gras beads from a past Senior Class Committee event.

A shelf beside the bulletin board contains even more mementos, and the office walls are lined with framed photo collages of students from years past.

“I think I started taking pictures of the Senior Class Committee in 1999,” Swanson said, gesturing to a series of framed pictures of broadly smiling students.

But while Swanson, the university’s director of student programs, plans to retire in June after 23 years working in various capacities for the Center for Student Programs, her legacy will extend far beyond the numerous mementos that she’s accumulated during her time at Georgetown.

From planning campus-wide programs like Georgetown Day and Jesuit Heritage Week, to serving on campus advisory boards such as the Judicial Hearing Board, to attending countless student-run events and Hoya sporting contests, Swanson has covered every square inch of the Hilltop.

“She has been a part of almost every aspect of life at Georgetown,” Associate Director of Student Programs Erika Cohen-Derr said of Swanson.

Swanson started her career at 37th and O as a part-time account clerk for the Office of Student Activities in 1984 and was promoted to become assistant director of student activities three years later.

In 1995, she was promoted to the position of associate director of student programs, and she rose again to director of student organizations in 2003. Swanson has held her current position since July 2006.

Though Swanson said she never foresaw spending so much of her career at Georgetown, she said that one of the most rewarding aspects of her job is interacting with students, who make her feel “energized.”

“I’ve never been bored in my job, ever,” she said.

Cohen-Derr, who will replace Swanson as director of the Center for Student Programs, said she has come to admire Swanson after working alongside her for the past six years.

“It’s as if she dedicates herself to bearing witness to almost everything that happens at Georgetown,” Cohen-Derr explained. “She has made a lasting impact on all of us in the Center for Student Programs.”

But Swanson has not only had an impact on co-workers. Over her years at Georgetown she has developed personal relationships with a countless number of students, as she has overseen the Student Activities Commission and advised the SCC.

Mary Gibson (COL ’05), a former SAC Commissioner and former president of Georgetown College Democrats, said she fondly remembers Swanson’s dedication.

“I was always impressed by the long hours she spent helping students at the school,” Gibson said. “Our SAC meetings were on Monday nights starting at 8 p.m. and lasting late into the night. She always put in the extra effort and never complained.”

Former SAC Commissioner and GUSA Vice President Luis Torres (COL ’05) first met Swanson while a participant in the Leadership and Beyond pre-orientation program in 2001 and became close to Swanson during his work with SAC, GUSA and New Student Orientation.

“During those very formative years of my college experience, Martha was a great mentor, colleague and friend,” Torres said. “[She] always had time and energy to listen and provide me with words of encouragement and advice.”

Swanson said that in her current position, she typically works six days a week, often staying on campus until close to midnight in order to attend meetings and various student events. While many on the Hilltop toss a Frisbee on Healy lawn, Swanson often spends her Saturdays responding to e-mails and finishing work.

“Just like students, I don’t get enough sleep,” she said.

But while Swanson’s workload may sometimes make her a little drowsy, she said that watching the campus progress over the past two decades has been anything but soporific.

Swanson has seen the campus transform during her tenure, with the student and faculty populations growing more diverse each year. With this metamorphosis, the number of student organizations she oversees has grown rapidly.

According to Swanson, at the start of her career, Georgetown had a total of 70 student organizations under the auspices of the Office of Student Activities. Today Georgetown has around 200 student organizations, of which SAC chairs over 90, she said.

Vice President for Student Affairs Todd Olson, who oversees Swanson, said Swanson’s leadership has helped propel this flourishing of student groups.

“During her time at Georgetown, Martha has played a central role in developing a culture of responsible and generous student leadership,” Olson said. “She has tirelessly supported student creativity and initiative.”

While Swanson said she plans to spend her retirement catching up on books and movies that she has not had time for while at Georgetown, she plans to continue to serve students all the same.

Swanson said she will assist with raising money for a Jesuit-founded high school in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya and hopes to raise enough money for the school’s students, many of whom are orphans, to finish high school and attend college.

And she encouraged students to do the same.

“Reflect on why you chose to come to a Jesuit and Catholic institution and why that makes a difference to you,” Swanson said.

After all, what else would one expect from a woman with a crucifix and a teddy bear clad in a Georgetown T-shirt both displayed in her office?