Building Community with sWAG by David Keys

SIU Residence Life has some great things going on, and we want to showcase some of our proud moments on our blog. We also hope people considering working in RA, graduate assistant, or full-time positions with our department will take a minute to learn more about the things we are doing. More information about our department, including position descriptions, application information, and graduate and full-time staff profiles can be found on our recruitment website.

David Keys, Hall Director of the Wall & Grand Apartments, wrote today's post about building community among apartment residents. We think the Wall & Grand staff is pretty fantastic at what they do!

It is commonly known to live and work in Wall And Grand, you have to possess “sWAG” and I am happy to say that our staff embodies that fully! We are able to share our “sWAG” with the 400 upperclassmen and transfer residents who reside within 3 separate buildings in our apartment complex. Our goal is to provide quality service, information, opportunities and safety for our students and we fulfill this goal by providing meaningful programs, activities and interactions that meet the needs of our student population.

Throughout this academic year, Resident Assistants have planned and executed multiple programs, ranging from a rousing game of “Apples to Apples” and door decorating competitions to our Fall Carnival, which included free food and outdoor games/activities. RAs are very intentional in the weekly programs provided and offer multiple ways for residents to interact outside of their individual apartments. Giving back to the community is also important to our community as we raised over $70 in pennies for the Humane Society!

Our Desk Assistant Staff ensure operations run smoothly at the front desk by answering questions and processing packages and mail. At the beginning of the spring semester, our residents took full advantage of our mailroom services as there was barely room for staff to maneuver within the mailroom because of the packages. The packages mostly consisted of textbooks as Wall and Grand residents truly value their academic pursuits and career goals.







 
Our Chief Clerk, Nedra, loves to engage with students by planning fun activities such as “HalloWAG”, which allowed students to show off their costumes and socially interact on Halloween. She and our Assistant Hall Director Joe decided to join in the festivities.

At the end of last semester, residents were invited to write down their accomplishments throughout the semester so they could be shared with the community. 

 

Residence Life Staff wants to prepare our residents for the future ahead by providing programs and information about resume building, writing cover letters and the job or internship search. Below, you will see our residents listening to great tips and suggestions about resumes from Career Services.

We have great things going this semester too! We are in the middle of our “3.0 Initiative”. Within this initiative, we asked residents to sign a pledge to achieve a 3.0 for the spring semester. In the fall, 189 residents received a 3.0 and we hope to reach 230 this semester! We also hosted a March Madness Bracket Challenge, a clothing drive, a “Clean-Up Carbondale” day, a Spring Barbeque and much more! Make sure to keep up with the sWAG @WAGEvents2013 and #WallGrandApts on Twitter.