September OTM Winners

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.

Recognition is a part of our departmental culture here at SIU, and we like to regularly highlight the great work done by our students and staff. Check out the Of The Month winners from September!

Amber Woyak, Advisor Of The Month - nominated by Ashley Stegall

"Amber Woyak is the kind of advisor that understands it is okay to let student leaders take control and that we may stumble and make mistakes that we will learn from them and find the right direction that we need to take."

Kyla Jones, First Year Student Of The Month - nominated by Ciara Maxwell

"Though she is heavily involved on campus, she has not forgotten that her education is first. She remains in class every day and is seeking to join the military. She is even a good role model for people on her floor, even her upperclassmen friends that she brings along to events and activities she attends."

Kelby Rogers, Student Of The Month - nominated by Ambreeann Gilbert

"Kelby is the president of the SIU chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and she has done many great things lately. First of all she busted her butt all summer for the conference she was the head of and she made that a huge success. She encourages females in engineering all the time by showing how we can be great and do great things for the world. She encouraged a NASA engineer to talk at the conference she helped to head and helped to show that we can maybe someday work for our dream company and have encourage others. Kelby is a leader on campus and she pushes others to their own greatness."

Ashley Stegall, Executive Board Member Of The Month - nominated by Justin Schuch

"Ms. Ashley Stegall serves at the President of the Saluki Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary (NRHH) and has been a living example this month of seizing as many opportunities as possible for NRHH. September is littered with moments of Ashley’s leadership through her capacity of President of the National Residence Hall Honorary. Ashley has pushed the Honorary to new heights over the past month and given much of herself to ensure successful initiatives and new connections are created."

Thank you to all who make recognition a priority! To submit an OTM nomination, go to http://otms.nrhh.org/

RA Appreciation Week! - Wall & Grand

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.

April 20-26 is Resident Assistant Appreciation Week! In Residence Life we know our RAs work very hard to provide a great experience for our on-campus residents. THANK YOU for all you do, RAs! This post features the amazing staff in Wall & Grand.

WAGsWAG Family…what is it you may ask? Well, let me give you the description.

WAGsWAG family [wag] [swag] [fam-uh-lee, fam-lee]

Noun: An SIU student who is a resident assistant at Wall & Grand apartments. This finely picked group of individuals wears many different hats. These individuals are conflict managers, educators, enforcers of rules and regulations, concierges and additionally student leaders. Their job is not easy and truly is never done. They are able to take on situations head on and deal with them in a patient and helpful manner. A WAGsWAG family member needs to be academically strong, customer service-oriented, quirky, have a creative personality and be a strong student leader.

There is no way I could ever describe my WAGsWAG staff in one description. Each one of them has a different personality and contributes their own to what it means to be part of the WAGsWAG family.

Thank you WAGsWAG family:

For the endless amount of hours you pour into your work 

For the creative programs and bulletin boards you have created 

For the positive attitude 

For always going above and beyond 

For always being there to help your fellow staff and residents 

For being professional 

For being positive role models 

For being responsible and respectable individuals 

For being a nifty and quirky bunch

For always providing a good laugh

Now you may ask who these wonderful individuals are:

Top row from left to right: Tyler Mode, Christian Kleckner, Joseph Essig, Apryl Wright, Jacob Rose
Bottom row from left to right: Earnest Johnson, Jessica Carron, Heather King, Chandrea Willard, Brittany Lemke

Highlights from our Student Leaders by Jess Coombs

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.

Jess Coombs is one of the Hall Directors for West Campus. Jess also serves as the adviser for the West Campus Area Council.

Working with students this year has been an amazing experience! Not only did I attend the Illinois Residence Hall Association (IRHA) Conference “Where the Wild Things Are” hosted at Western Illinois University (WIU), but I also worked with my Area Council members to put on the Saluki Rodeo. The IRHA group worked really hard to harness their inner monsters and create some great shirts, SIU giveaways, and an awesome skit. They came to represent SIU, and learn about what is happening at other Illinois Schools and take what they learned to create some great programs and opportunities for other students here at SIU.

"Inside all of us is.... hope 

Inside all of us is.... fear 

Inside all of us is.... adventure 

Inside all of us is a wild thing" 

 -Where The Wild Things Are 2009

This group had a blast at the social one evening during IRHA, getting to know others and taking some crazy photos! They weren't afraid to show off their wild sides! :)

The whole delegation, decked out for their skit

The West Campus Area Council had a great year of programming: from the Highlighter Dance Party to Open Mic Nights, and an end of the year celebration with the Saluki Rodeo. This group took months to plan the Saluki Rodeo and loved riding the bulls, going through the obstacle course, and trying to get the farthest on the bungee run. Residents from all over campus were invited to expel some extra energy before hitting the books for finals. The Area Council also teamed up with Residence Hall Dining to put out some favorite summertime foods and some of our area council members were covered in sugar from making many bags of cotton candy.

              

                       

Here you can see two of our members having a blast on the inflatables and holding on tight to the riding bull as it spun around. This group really shined in all they did this year, and have paved the way for the future of the Area Council. Working with the students at SIU, is such a privilege and they taught me as much as I taught them. I can’t wait to see what our student leaders do for the 2013-2014 school year!