Courtesy of Jessica Williams

After three months of resting, relaxation and a lack of academic responsibilities, the fun came to an end as students moved in to their homes for the next two semesters, some more readily than others.

The Retriever contacted Jessica Williams, assistant director of Conferences and Market at Residential Life, and John Fox, director of Residential Life, to learn more about this year’s move-in day. The pair were in charge of supervising the Residential Life staff and providing services to students among other things. Everything from managing operational functions of each residence hall to maintaining liaison relationships with other Student Affairs and Campus Life Offices was on their agenda for the momentous day.

The high points of the move-in process, according to Williams and Fox, were abundant.

“We had a team oriented staff that worked together to help one another out that helped welcome the 50th class to campus by increasing the bed space to accommodate greater numbers of transfer students and completing the wonderful West Hill renovation.”

Overall, ResLife noted no complaints about the move-in process or any areas in which they saw needed fixing to make next years process easier or more satisfying for incoming and returning students, saying that, “The excitement, energy and high touch approach make things work well.”

Despite the lack of concerns put forth by students and faculty, there are many parts of move-in with which ResLife would like to incorporate for the beginning of the fall 2017 semester. They felt specifically excited about incorporating university spirit into the move-in process, as they would like to replicate “the school spirit created through the 50th anniversary.” This spirit was emphasized with True Grit taking photos with families as well as increasing marketing efforts for on-campus living this year.

As great as John Fox and Jessica Williams are at managing ResLife, they made a point to emphasize that the success of this year’s move-in was a team effort. “The staff at the front line in our facilities work really hard to ensure everything goes smoothly. At the global level, Associate Director, Frank Caldwell, does a fantastic job of coordinating all of the necessary components and people key to the success of Residential Life,  that includes internal staff, as well as partners across the University.”

While move-in went well, we students must acknowledge the effort put in by the great people at ResLife and university faculty for allowing everything to run smoothly and going above and beyond expectations.

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