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Puget Sound Lives Green
Kelly Ammendolia
University of Puget Sound
Residence Life at the University of Puget Sound is taking a close look at its sustainability-themed campus housing. During the summer of 2008, the University of Puget Sound (Puget Sound) renovated a five-bedroom residential campus house to LEED Gold certification standards as part of an on-going commitment to sustainability. Puget Sound owns approximately 60 residential houses that sit around the perimeter of campus—a unique and attractive housing option for sophomores, juniors and seniors choosing to live on campus. The university currently has no residency requirement. Campus constituents felt that the creation of a sustainable living house would be a perfect opportunity to showcase Puget Sound’s sustainability efforts and demonstrate how students and the community can partner together to promote sustainable lifestyles. In 2007, representatives from Residence Life and Facilities Services joined forces to make this green dream a gold reality.
The renovation project involved retrofitting an existing campus house. The house was designed to meet LEED Gold standards using local materials, vendors, and architects. Some features include: 100% recycled particle board cabinetry, 55% recycled flooring, 50% postconsumer recycled paint on all walls, solar power panels, ultra high efficiency HVAC system with no ozone-depleting refrigerants, Energy Star-rated appliances, low flow toilets and shower heads, a compost bin, and rain barrels to collect water for irrigation. The cost of the project was supported through the university’s budget.
The Live Green House is an exciting opportunity for students to practice sustainable living and support sustainability efforts on campus. Residents of the Live Green House go through training in the fall to prepare them to care for the house, and work closely with Residence Life and Facilities Services throughout the year to create and maintain a green living environment. The students are also asked to facilitate house tours and participate in campus resource fairs. This year, we opened our campus to the Green Tacoma Partnership. The Live Green House served as one of several community tour destinations on Green Tacoma Day. Aryn Grause, a sophomore studying Business Leadership at Puget Sound, has lived in the Live Green House since August 2009. When asked about her experience in the house, Aryn said, “Living in this house is a treat. Not only is it beautiful but there are some great lessons to be learned within the house. Every person that lives in the house has a different background and we all have our own areas that we feel more environmentally aware. Since living in this house I have become more aware of little ways I can reduce my consumption of energy and water.”
Residence Life conducts a recruitment and selection process in February for continuing students interested in the Live Green House. Students must submit an application, which includes a short answer question about their experience and interest in sustainability. One of the five residents is selected to serve as the house coordinator, essentially the point of contact and organizer for the group. For the 2010-2011 year, Residence Life received 12 applications for five spots. The buzz about this program is getting out and students are excited to participate!
As the Live Green House celebrates the completion of its second year, Residence Life is reflecting on the program’s strengths and challenges with hope for continued improvement. Some noted strengths include: ever increasing student buy in and interest, avenues for collaboration across campus departments and with entities in the local community, and a positive marketing and recruitment platform for the university. One area of challenge exists around taking full advantage of utilizing the skills and experience of the five student residents of the Live Green House. Although the students are trained and serve as representatives for the university in various capacities, we recognize that the students’ knowledge and leadership could be used in more intentional ways. Residence Life plans to connect the students with even more training, outreach and programming opportunities on campus and in the community in the year to come. As an initial step, current and future Live Green House residents will come together for the first time to discuss their roles and experiences and brainstorm ways to increase the students’ involvement during the 2010-2011 year. This meeting will occur in the end of April.
Puget Sound is proud of the Live Green House and the momentum the program has gained over the past two years. We look forward to continued growth and improvement and are excited to share our experiences with other institutions considering similar renovations and programs!
A Quick Note to People Who Work in Residence
Curran Craig
Residence Life Coordinator, Grant MacEwan University
I have been living in residences now for somewhere around 7 years, the last two as a Residence Life Coordinator. As many people in this line of work, I started off by getting involved in my undergrad. I didn’t know what I wanted to do in terms of getting an education, but I knew I wanted to do something where I lived.
As I mentioned above, I started off as a volunteer. I was convinced to sing a Backstreet Boys song at a karaoke night with the student administrator of the residence discipline system and a couple of VPs from the community association. It was pretty appalling, but I felt that certain connection that you can only really have after singing Backstreet Boys in front of a large crowd, and with a little coaxing, I signed up to be a volunteer on the discipline committee. This experience taught me two important lesson: 1-sometimes, the Backstreet Boys really do bring people together and 2-sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone to get others involved.
Fast forward a year and I find myself in the position of the disciplinary administrator and community service coordinator. During this time, I found myself struggling through school, trying to find my own identity, and in general, figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I had some great guidance from a number of people that kept me on track and provided me with some invaluable insights. A friend and mentor of mine, Karl, was inspiring in his dedication and willingness to help out. In fact, he was so inspirational that he convinced me to run for the president of the community association. I learned a great deal about diplomacy from Karl, and the importance of being able to laugh and have fun in whatever position you find yourself in.
Jump ahead and I find myself as president of the community association and with a great new RLC, Chris. His easygoing personality, patience and willingness to work together to get things done for the residence taught me a thing or two about how to do things. Chris was very helpful in navigating some of the politics that come up within residence life.
The next year, I became a Residence Assistant, and had a new RLC, Mel. During this year I decided that it was time to go big and leave something for the next group of people coming through. So, with the help and support of my RLC, I organized an inter-resident blood drive for the last semester. I had originally set a goal of 110 donations, but because I was going big, I bumped it up to 150. We ended the year with 143 total donations, which was great. I even won an award for that, which was unexpected. The award was great, but even better was that I had helped save a possible 429 lives with those donations and even more if those people continue to donate on a regular basis. Not bad for my last year I figured. A lot of this was due to the time and effort that Mel put in to help me along the way.
In closing, I think that it’s important to recognize the people that have really helped me and scores of others out along the way because it is unlikely that I would have ended up where I am now without the support and dedication of these people. I‘ve learned a lot from everyone that I have been lucky enough to work with; from fellow students up to those in charge of running things. So to all the people that take the time to slow down and chat when you have a million things to do, to those that put countless hours in behind the scenes, to those that are there for students when they need it most: thanks. For some, words that you probably don’t hear enough, so I thought that I would say it on behalf of myself and those that don’t yet realize the difference you’ll make.
From Northeast to Northwest: My First NWACUHO Experience
Travis M. Mears, M.S.
University of Puget Sound
I first arrived in Tacoma, Washington on Saturday, June 26, 2009 after spending nearly eight months searching for a new job. After being laid off from my first professional position within seven months of being hired, I felt professionally beaten up. My job search process was long and seemed endless. Thankfully my wounds healed and I landed a great position working as a Resident Director at the University of Puget Sound. Instantly I felt welcomed on campus and by my colleagues. The same welcoming feeling that I first felt after arriving at Puget Sound is the exact feeling I experienced during my first interactions with Northwest ACUHO (NWACUHO) at the annual conference in Yakima, WA.
As a professional with less than three years of experience, I felt nervous about joining a new region of the country. I had never really been connected regionally with a professional organization. When my new supervisor expressed interested in me becoming more involved regionally I did not know what to expect. Not only did he want me to be involved regionally, but with an organization focused primarily on Residence Life and Housing. On February 6, 2010 my colleagues and I packed up our rental car and headed over the snowy Snoqualmie Pass for Yakima. After roughly two hours of driving, we arrived in Yakima and instantly I felt different than I had prior to attending other professional development conferences. As we walked into the lobby of the hotel to check in I was greeted by Jenna Hyatt, Gail Farmer, and Lori Johnson from Central Washington University and members of the Conference Planning Committee. This interaction although brief with a smile, handshake, and introduction was very energetic and positive, and was something I had never experienced before at a conference and set the very positive tone for the remainder of my experience in Yakima.
The NWACUHO Conference felt like a safe space for me as a new professional in the region to ask questions, gain new knowledge, and get involved. The weekend seemed to go by very fast. Beginning with an amazing wine tasting tour through the Yakima wine country and ending with a number of new friends and colleagues, this conference experience far exceeded my expectations. I truly felt heard and valued by my fellow conference attendees. Attending NWACUHO opened my eyes to the importance of getting involved regionally and how much more fun professional development conferences can be when you feel like you belong.
Since the NWACUHO Conference, I have become one of the new Region V Co-Representatives for the New Professional and Graduate Student Knowledge Community for NASPA thanks to networking at NWACUHO. I have also been offered opportunities to join multiple task forces for NWACUHO, and have been given the opportunity to write this reflection. In short, my experience at NWACUHO far exceeded my expectations both personally and professionally. I highly recommend all housing professionals—from new professionals to chief housing officers to get involved. Getting involved with NWACUHO will not only develop your professional strengths, but will enable you to establish numerous relationships, learn a great deal about the field, and provide many opportunities for growth.
ACUHO-I New Professional Scholarship: Due April 16!
A $1000 scholarship is available for a NWACUHO new professional to attend the ACUHO-I annual conference in Austin, Texas this summer! This scholarship is avaiable to professionals with three years or less full-time experience in housing and residence life. Apply by completing the casestudy linked below, and act fast, the deadline is April 16!
2010 New Professional/New to the Region Booklet
Every year we put together a booklet for people that are new to NWACUHO. This booklet talks about NWACUHO as an organization and what to expect at the conference.
Please check it out:
Conference Registration & Hotel Update
The deadline to register for the conference at the regular rate is this Friday (1/15/10) as on Saturday (1/16/10) the rate will increase $50
Once registered please reserve your hotel room through the Red Lion using the proses described below.
- www.redlion.com
- In the “Find your Hotel” box on the right hand side of the screen, you will want to click on the “Other Search Options”, which will be a link in all black letters.
- This will take you directly to the make your reservation screen.
- Type in Yakima for the city, and Washington for the state.
- Select your check-in and check-out dates, which will be directly under the city information.
- Then you will want to scroll down the screen until you see two boxes, one will say, “Qualified Discounts” and the other will say, “Special Rates”.
- You want to click the, “Special Rates”, and then click, “Group/Convention Code”.
- Enter in the Group Code, which is: COLL0204
- It will take you to the Available Rooms that are in the Group Block.
Conference Program Schedule
Below you will find two files containing the planned programs for this years NWACUHO conference.
Remember to register by January 16th to avoid the late registration fee.
NWACUHO Senior Housing Officer Institute
This year we are proud to offer a Senior Housing Officer Institute (SHO) in conjunction with our annual conference.
The SHO will be from February 5-7, 2009. The application is available On-Line in conjunction with the Annual Conference registration at: http://www.regonline.com/nwacuho2010a
The Senior Housing Officer Institute (SHO) provides an opportunity for a limited number of current or aspiring to be Senior Housing Officers to network with one another, to learn from several outstanding faculty speaking on critical issues that SHO’s face across all campus’ and to receive more professional development focused towards mid-level and senior level participants attending the NWACUHO conference at Yakima, Washington. The list of topics being covered at this year’s SHO are:
1) Self Advocacy and My Career Path in Higher Education
2) Residence Life beyond Living In
3) The “other” side of Housing – conference and dining services
4) Legal Issues in Higher Education
5) Managing Human and Fiscal Resources
The cost of the SHO Institute is $150, which includes all necessary materials, meals from Friday Dinner through lunch on Sunday. Participants are responsible for their own lodging. Arrangements can be made through the Red Lion Hotel in Yakima. The Institute conveniently begins the Friday evening BEFORE the annual NWACUHO conference allowing you to arrive two days early to attend both events. Space is limited to 20 participants. Please fill out the online application and 4 Short essay questions.
Short Questions: (under 2000 words)
- What motivated you to apply for Senior Housing Officers?
- What do you hope to gain from the SHO Institute?
- What are your professional goals, short and long term?
- What areas do you feel you need more training to be an effective SHO?
Submit application and supplemental material on-line by January 8, 2009.