After my 6 hour drive from my former institution to Carbondale (traffic was an issue), this is the greeting that my partner heard from 10 of our new colleagues. They stood outside Schneider Hall in the 90 degree heat and humidity with smiles on their faces ready to help us unload our truck and two cars. What had taken the two of us almost 7 hours to load, took this group less than 35 min to unload. Our heads were happily spinning!
By way of brief introduction, my name is Brian Gallagher. I am one of the new Hall Directors for the 2011-2012 academic year at SIUC. I have been placed in Schneider Hall. My partner and I are extremely excited about this step in our journey, both in terms of my career and her looking for a job in Carbondale; as well as our experience as a couple exploring a new region and meeting new friends.
I think we were both happily surprised on July 1 (our move-in date) to find our apartment looking fantastic. Our walls had a new coat of paint; we received a HUGE gift bag full of snacks on the living room table; there were hand-written notes both in my office and our home; and my office was all setup and looking ready to go. Emotionally, while were both completely tired from the move, we were very happy and relieved that so much of the ‘heavy lifting’ had been done already.
As July 1 was a Friday, with July 4 being the following Monday, we had a nice long weekend to settle into our new apartment. The SIUC Res Life team had a list of fun (optional) activities for us throughout the weekend. There was an opprotunity to go see the local minor league baseball team, a trip to the local farmer’s market, a dinner out, a hike in a near-by state park, and fireworks! We choose to participate in some of these activities, but also had some quality time to ourselves to unpack and “nest.”
Now that the ‘fun’ weekend is over, we’ve been busy in training. Throughout these first few training days I have been able to spend more time looking at the mission and vision of the department. Reflectively, the vision statement really rings true when I think about how welcomed we feel throughout our transition to Carbondale. The statement reads: “To be recognized as the standard of excellence by which other housing departments are measured through expansive programs and services.” Now, while getting my apartment and business cards ready is not an ‘expansive program’ or a ‘service’ – I am really wow-ed by this standard of excellence here. I am truly impressed. I hope that I can now, in turn, provide this high quality, warm, and friendly standard of excellence for the staff and residents that I will be working with over the next few years at my new home with SIUC Res Life.
