Welcome to the team - Justin Barker!

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.

Justin Barker wrote today's post. Justin is coming to us from North Carolina, and he will be one of the Hall Directors in Schneider Hall.

SIU Carbondale was never on my radar in the beginning stages of my job search process. I was looking to go to a big city, with a million people, with a ton of lights, and a ton of traffic. However, after receiving my recruitment email from the selection committee and having my first conversation with Tina I knew that Southern Illinois shouldn't be crossed off my list.

Fast forward to June 26th and I’m on the road from North Carolina to start my first year as a Hall Director at SIU Carbondale! We often have times in our lives where we have those “the stars have aligned” moments, and accepting the position as Hall Director was mine. The quaintness of the area, the college town feel, and the people made my decision even easier. 

My first month has been quite a whirlwind from training, to getting settled in, but it has been one of the best whirlwinds. The relationships I have formed with my colleagues has helped when the whirlwind has become too much. I’m ecstatic to be going on this journey with my fellow new Hall Directors and most certainly my co-HD, who has been nothing short of amazing since the time of my arrival. As we enter into another phase of training I’m thrilled to meet all the Grad Students, and RAs. I’m so pumped to open Schneider Hall and get this school year started. I’m ready to see what it truly means to be a Saluki! Here’s to the beginning of what I know will be a memorable first year!