Welcome to the Team - Alisha Severson!

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.

This post was written by Alisha Severson. Alisha is the Assistant Director of Residence Life overseeing West Campus.

My first few weeks at SIU… 

Hello! My name is Alisha Severson and I am the new Assistant Director of Residence Life and will be working with West Campus this upcoming academic year. Before coming to SIU I worked at the University of Northern Iowa, Eastern Illinois University and Ball State University. I am excited to join the SIU family and become a Saluki! 

My first few weeks at SIU have been hectic, but incredibly fun. Professional staff training for our residence life staff is over four weeks in length and I have been enjoying learning about campus, SIU students, and how hard residence life works to create safe, inclusive and engaging environments for the 4,000+ residents that reside in our hall and apartment communities. I have had the opportunity to meet many of the administrative and support staff in housing, help all of our new live-in hall directors move into their buildings and meet with faculty and some of our living learning community partners to discuss mutual goals, resources and plans for the upcoming year. I have been continually impressed by the dedication to students that is clearly present across all academic and administrative departments!

Locally my husband and I have enjoyed figuring out all of the one way streets in Carbondale and trying out the best restaurants in town (Longbranch Cafe is our favorite so far). We also have enjoyed sightseeing around the area and finding our way around SIU’s gorgeous campus! So far the people, the food and the sights have not disappointed! I am thrilled to have the opportunity to join SIU’s residence life team and the dynamic professional staff that work hard to help create strong communities within the residence halls. I am anxiously awaiting the return of our student staff, student leaders and residents in the coming weeks. You can find my office in Lentz Hall on West Campus, stop in and to say hello if you are in the area this Fall!