That Back to School Time of Year

When you work at your college alma mater and it's where you met the love of your life you'll frequently encounter memories that make smiles happen.  I remember the spot in front of on campus apartments that crazy people did a gallon challenge, late night conversations on a bridge between two buildings, dinner 'dates' to the dining hall or a now renovated coffee shop turned commuter lounge.  All those things make me smile - but this time of year as the Residence Life staff returns to campus holds a special place in my heart.  

We had mutual friends but our paths didn't really cross until the end of our First Year in college - at our campus formal when someone asked me to dance.  It's silly, but I remember that his tie had Volkswagen Beatles all over it.  He asked me for a second dance and I said I needed to get back to my date.  We never really had a conversation but you can bet after that I knew who he was.  Fast forward a week and we didn't run into each other (engineers and history majors really didn't cross paths) and our friend circles apparently didn't cross all that much but we were both interviewing for positions as Resident Assistants for the coming academic year - and we ended up in the same rotation.  As it worked out, we were both hired (for floors in neighboring buildings).  We finished out Spring of our Freshman year and then that Fall (right around this time in August) I remember sitting on the floor of my room in my Residence Hall, putting tape on the back of a Newsboys concert poster when someone popped his head in to ask if I was heading to training and wanted to walk down with him.  And the rest is history....just kidding...over that fall we built this incredible friendship and spent as much time together as the schedule of engineering student who is an RA and involved in theatre might allow.  We were both busy with our floors, our studies and our friends but thankfully being part of the same complex gave us more than a few nights we were on rounds together.  It's funny - thinking back, I can name quite a few couples who met through Residence Life!  We both stayed connected to Residence Life for the next couple years and we made some great memories with those teams and also learned a lot that proved that in college the learning happens as much outside of the classroom as inside.  

Residence Life is just a small part of our story but it made a lasting impact and I have to say it significantly shaped my college experience, my resume and affected the ways that I view relationships and people connections.