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INSIDE A Greener Future for

Pritchard Hall

Residential Colleges

End of the Year Awards

Dear Residence Life Alumni,

It is hard to believe another academic year has begun. The Residence Life staff has worked extreme-ly hard to ensure the needs of our students were met. The staff has done an excellent job to address issues and to build community throughout the residential campus, while also producing some very enjoyable memories. Participating in the Staff Olympics in January and Relay for Life in April are just two of many memories that will last a lifetime.

I would like to take this opportunity to share some brief updates that will have an impact on this year and years to come. First of all, we are in the process of doing some major renovations to Ambler-Johnston. East AJ and the corridor are currently being renovated and will be completed and ready to open in the fall of 2011. Once East AJ opens, West AJ will close for renovations for one year. The entire building will open in the fall of 2012. The completely renovated facility will include a total of 1,176 beds in double occupancy room configurations. In addition to air-conditioning and other amenities, AJ will have a silver rating from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Sustain-able design ratings will be a priority for future renovations and new construction.

The building characteristic that staff members and external partners are really looking forward to for this project is that AJ will be the home of multiple residential colleges—a first for Virginia Tech! East AJ will be home to a University Honors residential college and West AJ will be home to a second residential college. A primary programmatic focus of the residential colleges will be multigenera-tional: residents at different academic levels with various majors will live together in a community with faculty who share a focus on academic success and holistic growth for the duration of their time at Virginia Tech. This residence hall will be the first on campus to provide housing, office, and classroom space for faculty. Look for more information about the residential colleges from Carl Krieger in this edition of The Link.

We are also making some significant organizational and philosophical changes for the 2010-2011 academic year. Since students learn outside of the classroom, we want to be the catalyst for devel-oping our live-on students holistically. After reviewing our organizational structure, we realized that more personnel resources are needed to interact with our campus residents on a daily basis. Our current staff is working diligently to create a structured system that will support and assist live-in staff to further develop community. We will make a connection with every student who lives in the residence halls; doing so increases the likelihood that residents will have a positive experience, and we will work throughout the year to develop a plan that will help us reach this important goal.

By now, you should have received a few notices about the Homecoming Weekend events:

Friday, October 15: a reunion and reception program in Owens Banquet Hall

Saturday, October 16: a tailgating event near the newest residence hall (and the home of our main office), New Hall West.

The Residence Hall Federation and Residence Life staff really hope you can make it.

And finally, please take some time to go through the latest edition of The Link and discover some-thing new about the department you were once affiliated with. On behalf of Residence Life, we hope that all is well with you and we hope that you stay in touch!!!

Sincerely,

Leon McClinton, Jr., Ph.D.Director of Residence Life

GREETINGS FROM THE DIRECTOR

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2 Residential Colleges

3–4 Alumni Spotlight

5 A Greener Future for Pritchard Hall

6 Residence Hall Federation Update

7 Staff Olympics 2010

8 Living and Learning in Res Life

9 RAs Gone Bananas

10–11 Honors students, dancing

12–16 Res Life End of the Year Awards

17 Bulletin Board

CONTENTS

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Imagine the residence life utopia. You would walk in and the entrance would be beautiful. Faculty would be hanging out with students in the lobby, conversations touching on a breadth of subjects ranging from Socrates to Hokie Football. As you made your way into the residential section of the building, you’d notice the palate of colors that varied by hallway. The hallway wouldn’t be drab, flat walls, but parts of it would feel intimate and the colors would set areas apart. People would have their doors open and be milling back and forth into rooms, talking about the documentary they’re going to see downstairs in the theater later that night. Someone would come up and ask if the documentary is for their class. They would say yes, but anyone’s invited. There would be a couple of people hanging out in the hallway typing on their laptops and saying hi as their community members walk by. In a study lounge, you would see a senior helping a first-year student with his biology homework, and coming from a random room you would hear a conversation that sounds like a junior explaining to a sophomore how to apply for the best summer internships. Finally, you’d find yourself waiting on a steady flow of residents coming out of a faculty member’s apartment. You’d poke your head in and see that there are residents helping the faculty member’s husband clean up the kitchen. You ask one of them where everyone’s going and they say that Bobby has challenged the faculty member to a game of pool, and pride is at stake.

If you now have this vision firmly stuck in your head, then I say, welcome to the Ambler Johnston Residential College. Built upon a foundation of faculty interaction, multi-year community-building, and student ownership, this community will be the first of its kind on Virginia Tech’s campus. While there are many institutions that house residential colleges, Virginia Tech will be doing this one the Tech way.

East AJ will begin housing the Honors residen-tial college in Fall 2011. West AJ will house multiple residential colleges and will complete the transformation in Fall 2012. The commu-nity will be a blend of colors and textures and will include seven faculty offices, two faculty apartments, a movie theatre, a library, a game room, suite-style living, hotel-style living (private bathroom), and traditional living (shared bathroom).

Residence Life will work collaboratively with a large faculty presence to foster the organic growth of the community. We will work diligently to make the residents feel that AJ is their home and identify it as having a dramatic impact on their Virginia Tech experience. This building will not be known as just the place they sleep and hang out. It will be a tool that will help breathe life into their academics. So as you make your plans to visit campus in 2011 and 2012, make sure your plans include experiencing the first residential college at Virginia Tech.

Residential Colleges Virginia Tech Invents the Future by Carl Krieger, Assistant Director of Residence Life, ckrieger@vt.edu

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What did you like about being an RA?

It was neat being a senior guiding these freshmen as they made the transition from high school to college.

What was your favorite moment as an RA?

My favorite moment was meeting then-president James McComas on the Drillfield at a freshman mixer during orientation. It was random and spontaneous. I turned around while I was talking to a freshman and said “and here is the president of the university.”

What’s been your favorite moment since graduation?

Going to the Chik-Fil-A Bowl with my two oldest boys. It was their first bowl game and it was a boys’ road trip. And of course the Hokies won.

What was the hardest part about being an RA?

It was hard having to be the heavy when a lot of people wanted to have fun. It was hard making the rounds on Friday and Saturday nights knowing that there was going to be the need to break up “honest illegal activity.”

What impact did being an RA have on you?

Being an RA enabled me to learn skills for leadership, involving multiple individuals of various backgrounds. I have drawn on that initial experience ever since.

What path have you taken since leaving Virginia Tech?

I got married in June of ’92 and entered dental school in July. From there I entered the U.S. Navy as a dental officer. From 1996 to 1999, I spent a year in San Diego, Norfolk, and New Jersey and had a six-month deployment to the Middle East in 1999. I’ve been a dentist in Blacksburg since 1999.

Where are you now?

I am a husband of one wife, Andrea, and a father of five boys, ages 13, nine, seven, two, and five months, all future Hokies. My wife is a Hokie, too, who graduated the same year as I did. She is a homeschooling mom to our five boys. I just opened my new dental office, Real Life Dental Care located in Kent Square. I want to reach out to the Hokie community so they can come to my practice when dental emergencies come up or they need to have things done. It’s sometimes inconvenient to go home or use break time for it. My website is www.reallifedentalcare.com or students can call (540) 552-LIFE.

What would you say to current RAs?

Keep your eyes wide, be consistent, and don’t be afraid to say and do the right thing, even when everyone else is going in the opposite direction. This experience will definitely aid you in all your future experiences.

Name: Damon Thompson

Years/Positions: 1991–1992 RA-Main Campbell

E-mail: dbtdds@aol.com

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Name: Jomita Smith

Years/Positions: 2002-2004, Graduate Hall Director

E-mail: jfleming@stuact.tamu.edu

What path have you taken since leaving Virginia Tech?

Res Life to Student Activities (Extended Orientation and Involvement)

Where are you now?

Working in a mid-management position at a large, research institution in the South

What do you do now?

I’m a program coordinator for Extended Orien-tation and Involvement

What are your favorite Virginia Tech Res Life moments?

The Imaginarium!

Take Back the Night displays in the windows of the residence halls as the march traveled by

West End London broil and Deet’s Place ice cream

Learning to make truffles on Valentine’s Day from the chefs in Dietrick

NRHH inductions

Favorite moments since graduation?

Thinking about singing in the choir at First Baptist Blacksburg under the direction of Terrell Strayhorn

Smiling when hearing Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning” and remembering doing room checks in O’Shag

Watching The Michael Vick Project and remembering standing behind Marcus Vick in Owens Food Court

Glancing at my Chicago Maroon-colored leather-bound independent study project on my bookshelf and feeling so appreciative of the support provided by Joan Hirt

Impact from your Virginia Tech Res Life role on your life now?

Being a hall director in Residence Life (then Residence Education) provided me with a great opportunity to supervise amazing students who I am still in touch with today. I am now a much better supervisor of professional staff because of the experience I was able to have at Virginia Tech. I was given a great deal of autonomy, trust, and responsibility, which was at times overwhelming then, but so applicable now.

I loved my experience so much that I have encouraged many students and professionals to seek out an opportunity in Res Life because of the experience that I know they will receive.

What would you say to current RAs?

Build relationships with peers, supervisors, and students; they are some of the most valuable that I have made in my lifetime.

Take it all in. All of it really is preparing you for the amazing world around and beyond Blacksburg.

Appreciate the campus. It really is one of the most beautiful (and coordinated) that I have seen.

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For 42 years, each fall, Pritchard Hall welcomed more than 1,000 men to the Virginia Tech campus. In the fall of 2009 this era ended, and for the first time in the building’s history, women were assigned to live in Pritchard Hall.

Residence hall buildings are a critical compo-nent to a student’s experience at Virginia Tech. Not only do residence halls serve as a place for students to sleep, but also as a place to learn, grow, and develop. Residence hall rooms, hallways, and lounges tell stories of the begin-ning of life-long friendships, late-night study sessions, and life-changing conversations.

We are excited to turn the page to a new chap-ter in the life of the Pritchard Hall Community. Housing and Residence Life at Virginia Tech are beginning a project to enhance and revi-talize the Pritchard Hall internal courtyard. While the courtyard, or as it is known by many, “The Pit,” is centrally located, it is rarely used by the residents.

Currently the space is a two-level flagstone paved space with one tree, several concrete picnic tables, and old bicycle racks as the only amenities. Our vision is to create a desti-nation location for residents that is vibrant;

A Greener Future for Pritchard HallBy: Jamie Penven, Associate Director of Residence Life, jpenven@vt.edu

PROPOSED

CURRENT

contains drought-tolerant, non-invasive plant-ings to soften the hard architectural lines and to dampen sound transmission; and gener-ally enhances the community development by creating a meeting/relaxation space for the Pritchard Hall community.

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Residence Hall Federation UpdateBy: Lynanne Hodges, Student Leadership Advisor, lynanne@vt.edu

In its thirty-sixth year at Virginia Tech, the Resi-dence Hall Federation has only begun to take things ‘’To the Next Level,’’ the RHF theme for the 2009-2010 school year. As the reign-ing student organization of the year, RHF is continuing traditions and beginning new ones! This year RHF provided many programs for the 9,100 residential students including Campus Bonanza, their annual kickoff to the school year, which featured free pizza from Papa Johns, free refreshments from Rita’s Italian ice, rides and inflatables, carnival games, and musical perfor-mances by campus groups. This event even won a state award! They continued their involvement by providing free green-screen family photos with Virginia Tech backgrounds on Family Day and by being a Hokie Stone sponsor for Home-coming and participating in the annual parade with a Mario Brothers-themed float. RHF also participated in multiple service events, includ-ing raising canned goods for Homelessness and Hunger Awareness Week, scooping ice cream at Maggie Moo’s to raise money for The Chal-lenge Farm (an African orphanage and school), collecting pop tabs for the Ronald McDonald House, participating in Relay for Life and Big Event, and contributing funds towards the 3.2 for 32 April 16 Remembrance Run. They ended the year with a blowout event called MayDay Mayhem, an event co-sponsored with NRHH on the Drillfield, which featured free food, carnival rides and games, music, and tie-dye with free T-shirts for participants. This was all in addi-tion to the hundreds of programs put on in the actual residence halls by the 19 hall councils.

Along with programming and service, RHF gave a voice to the residents by hosting many speakers at the bi-weekly General Assembly meetings. In addition, they hosted Open Forum, an event where any student could attend to ask questions about things going on with Residence Life, Housing and Dining Services, and Park-ing Services. This event was attended by many administrators in Residence Life and featured Leon McClinton, Erin Foote, and Steve Mouras as panel members. They supported legislation brought forward by Student Conduct to ban ammunition from the residence halls and they

initiated a residential campus-wide survey to improve the cable channel offerings at Virgin-ia Tech. In addition, they provided support for the Student Government Association-initiated Eco-Olympics, an event aimed at increasing sustainable living in the residence halls by measuring the consumption of energy and creating a competition between the halls to reduce energy usage and increase awareness.

RHF provided multiple leadership development opportunities for its members this year. Their annual Fall Leadership Conference, attended by over 200 newly elected hall council officers, was an amazing experience featuring multiple presentations by RHF officers and professional staff. Hall councils had the opportunity to get to know each other, learn how to lead and program in their halls, and show their creativity through skits during the closing. RHF also sent students to all conferences this year, including SAACURH at the University of Kentucky, VACURH at Emory and Henry College, No Frills at Mississippi State University, and NACURH at the University of Cali-fornia-San Diego. These opportunities continue to keep our residence hall organization current with trends at institutions across the country!

Next year, there will be many changes for RHF, as their advising structure is changing and the executive board has been restructured to increase efficiency. We are confident that the newly elected officers of RHF will do a fantastic job in continuing the legacy that it has created over the past couple of years! Please join the current RHF exec board in congratulating the following students, who will be taking the reins:

President: Caroline Gimenez, cgimenez@vt.edu

Vice President of Membership and Legislation:Jamee Short, jfshort@vt.edu

Vice President of Administration: Megan Lewis, mlewis91@vt.edu

Director of Outreach: Kelly Robinson, kelly14@vt.edu

Director of Programming: Lindsey Long, llong13@vt.edu

Advisor: Jennifer Bannon, jrbannon@vt.edu

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Staff Olympics 2010Each year brings out the face paint, bandanas, and crazy costumes as staff members take on the challenge of the year: Staff Olympics. Held in January during winter training, the event was located in War Memorial Gym and featured eight events. The competition consisted of a flag design, rochambeau tournament (rock, paper, scissors), shaving cream cheesy poof toss, basketball shoot-out, trivia, balloon relay, and drunken-goggle tricycle race, and it was topped off by the tug-of-war tournament. This year’s champions were the RAs from Payne, Peddrew-Yates, and New Residence Hall East. Congratulations!

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It is an exciting time for living-learning communities in Residence Life! Our theme housing programs are a combination of decade-old favorites and brand new opportunities for students to incorporate their classroom curriculum into their residence hall communities. Here are some highlights from this year:

Blasting off! (with Galileo and Hypatia)The resident advisors for Galileo, an engineering-focused living-learning community for men, and Hypatia, an engineering-focused living-learning community for women, collaborated on their final event of the academic year. Residents with-in these communities formed teams and worked together to build rockets. On the afternoon of May 1, all of the residents gathered to shoot off their rockets and compete for prizes in catego-ries such as “best rocket design” and “best teamwork.” This program allowed residents to hone their engineering skills, work together as a group, and have some fun before the stress of final exams hit!

For more information on these communities, please visit the Virginia Tech Theme Housing website at www.housing.vt.edu/theme.

SERVE-ing Up Living and LearningWhile fall 2009 saw Pritchard Hall open its doors to female residents, fall 2010 welcomed a proj-ect between Residence Life and the Center for Student Engagement and Community Partner-ships, Tech’s newest Theme Housing Program: S.E.R.V.E. (Students Engaging and Responding through Volunteer Experiences).

Jake Grohs, formerly a fantastic Virginia Tech resident advisor, was a catalyst for this new community through his role as the assistant director for student engagement programs for CSECP. Students in the SERVE program focus on developing a strong, personal commitment to civic engagement through courses highlight-ing leadership and citizenship and by seeking out personal and team volunteer opportunities.

For more about SERVE and to read about the experiences of SERVE’s pilot-year students, visit the blog at: www.serveatvt.wordpress.com.

Residential Colleges in Ambler-JohnstonWhile a physical renovation of Ambler-Johnston is well underway, a philosophical renovation is also in full swing. Residence Life, in partnership with University Honors and future faculty-in-residence, is excitedly planning the newest living-learning communities at Virginia Tech: the residential colleges.

Two residential colleges in East (Honors, fall 2011) and West (traditional, fall 2012) A.J. will add a new and exciting approach to theme hous-ing programs. These communities will have faculty masters, with offices and residences in the communities. Students will have the opportu-nity to start living in the colleges during their first year and stay throughout their college careers.

Re-focusing Residence Life Staff’s Community-Building EffortsFor many years, Residence Life has facilitated a number of traditional programming models. For fall 2010, however, Residence Life will introduce a new focus on community development, seek-ing to engage residents in a more civic-minded and community-driven residential environment.

Residence Life is moving away from the tradition-al programming model, which typically focuses on a select few topic areas intended to meet residents’ needs, to a community development plan that provides a platform for communities to develop organically, meeting individual needs through civic engagement and community membership. This is a fundamental shift in our residential philosophy, but one that will create a means for students to develop a number of skills that will not only support their develop-ment and learning outside of the classroom, but encourage them to make connections between their academics and everyday life needs.

Living and Learning in Residence LifeBy: Valerie Shayman, Theme Housing Graduate Assistant, valshay@vt.edu

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RAs Gone Bananas!!!Once again, Residence Life paired with Dining Services to serve banana splits to residence hall students. The effort was in support of Resident Appreciation week. Student staff members donned chef hats and aprons to serve banana splits and myriad toppings to long lines of hungry residents at both D2 and Shultz Dining Center. This is the fourth year of the event. Both Residence Life and Dining are looking forward to continuing this terrific tradition!

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Whether it be swing, ballroom, cha-cha, tango, or salsa, residents within the University Honors housing program have been taking over the dance scene here at Virginia Tech. Student organizations such as Salsa Tech, Solely Swing Dancing Club, and Ballroom Dance all are close-ly affiliated with the off-campus dance group called the Southwest Virginia Social Dance Society (SVSDS), which meets every Tuesday and Friday at the Blacksburg YMCA on North Main Street.

Revived from the early ‘90s GAP khaki swing commercial, swing dancing is a favorite for many on campus honors students. Jessica Dexter, a junior of Main Campbell majoring in human nutrition, foods, and exercise has been involved with Solely Swing for more than a year.

“We have a lot of dedicated dancers, especially in the swing community. Dancing is the joy of many of our lives here in college,” said Dexter. “Many people feel like it is a family and they want to do everything to be a part of that fami-ly.” Another activity she is extremely passionate about is Nuru International’s Be Hope To Her (BH20+) campaign to eradicate extreme poverty and provide clean drinking water for individuals living in developing nations.

“Being a part of the dance community here at Tech, I was able to use my connections within the community to set up a charity masquerade ball to raise money,” said Dexter.

She said that without her network and relation-ships with SVSDS and Solely Swing, the dance could not have been possible. “It was a lot of fun and a huge success,” she noted. “We raised almost $400 to help build clean water wells and support other holistic sustainability projects that Nuru is working on in Kenya.”

Among other honors swing dancers include senior Bryant Ferguson, an electrical engineer-ing student and Main Campbell resident; and Wayne and Claire Horton Honors Scholar John Helveston, a senior mechanical engineer. Fergu-son and Helveston currently teach weekly dance lessons in the War Memorial Dance Room on Sunday afternoons.

A dancer of three years, Helveston told of his experiences when he first got involved with Solely Swing.

“The first night I went, everyone there seemed to be even more excited about me being there than I was. I was welcomed in and immediately started taking classes.”

However, Helveston has now reversed roles as an experienced dancer. When asked why he decided to start teaching, he responded honestly, saying, “If you really want to under-stand something, teach it. There’s no better way to learn and master a skill than having to break it down and teach it to someone else.”

As a graduating senior, Helveston is currently teaching his last blues class with Christina Lanza, a talented dancer and active member of SVSDS. Last week the class worked on body isolations and core strength exercises.

“I love to teach dance because I love seeing those moments when my students get hooked and fall in love with [it],” John says.

Another student involved in the Virginia Tech dance scene is sophomore Brittania Vondrasek, a Hillcrest resident majoring in ocean engineering.

Honors students, dancingA good combinationBy: Renee LoSapio, rlosapio@vt.edu

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In this previous fall semester, the experienced ballroom dancer participated in a student-facil-itated honors colloquium entitled “Suburbia.” Topics she and her fellow peers discussed were the ideals conceptualized as the “American Dream” and the individualistic consumerism which suburban life perpetuates. As an experi-enced dancer for more than 15 years, it was no problem for Vondrasek to balance her academ-ics and competitive dancing.

She admits, “My grades actually suffer when I don’t dance! Dancing has taught me when to step up and get things done and when to stand back and let others take charge. It helps me stay focused on the important things and not get distracted.”

Currently, Brittania also teaches social dance lessons and frequently helps out with the Virginia Tech ballroom competition team. Virginia Tech’s team is one of the most prominent and well organized competitors in the New River Valley.

“I’ve always been interested in teaching, and I really enjoy sharing my knowledge with others,” says Vondrasek. “Plus, the more successful the team is, the easier it will be for me to reach my personal dance goals.”

Blaire Banfield, a psychology major of Hillcrest, is another individual who feels as though ball-room dancing has had an impact on her life. Banfield, who started last fall semester and is relatively new to the sport, has already seen the benefits social dancing.

“Dancing influenced my life in a positive way. It showed me a whole new area that I never knew anything about,” she said. When asked why she thinks more students should get involved, Banfield responded, “Ballroom is something that is a dying art, and I think if young people today realized how beautiful and timeless it is, then it could come back and be more mainstream.” Vondrasek and Banfield agree that developing a sense of grace and confidence are just two of the many benefits of ballroom dancing.

Many Virginia Tech students are seeking out ways in which they can relax and pass the time away from their textbooks. Rather than being cooped up in your room, try

going out to a free ballroom lesson, held weekly on Thursday nights at 7:30 P.M. in Squires. Not sure if it’s right for you? Try Latin dancing with Salsa Tech every Monday night starting at 6:30 P.M. in the Graduate Life Center. Still unsure? Just follow the simple recommendations of Blaire Banfield: “[Dance] is an incredible way to try

something new and meet other people who are just as adventurous as you.”

We need your help to reconnect. Please take a moment to pass this newsletter on to other Virginia Tech Res Life Alumni!

Check out the website: www.housing.vt.edu/ra/alumni

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The 2009-2010 Residence Life End of the Year Awards program took on a new format this year. Traditionally, guests enjoyed a banquet meal and a three-to-four hour award program. This year, guests mingled in the cool breeze of the University Club for a “meet and greet” including finger foods and drinks. The depart-ment received almost 300 nominations for the award recognition this year! The awards program was held in the Graduate Life Center Auditorium and winners received the prized “Golden Gobbler Awards.”

After the ceremony, a dessert reception was held at the University Club to honor the winners and their nominators. We couldn’t have asked for better weather or company in which to cele-brate. Additionally, graduating seniors serving Residence Life in any capacity were bestowed an honor cord to wear with traditional gradua-tion regalia. Continue reading about our annual award winners!

Imaginarium AwardsGo Green Board The Go Green Board award goes to the person who has created a fantastic bulletin board using all recycled materials. The winner of the Go Green Board Award is Nagina Bhatti, resident advisor in the Slusher Complex.

Bulletin Board Builder The Bulletin Board Builder Award goes to the person who has continuously created bulletin boards that are not only educational and informative, but also creative and eye-catching. The winner of the Bulletin Board Builder Award is Lauren Anderson, senior resident advisor for O’Shaughnessy Hall.

Programmer The Program-mer Award goes to someone who has gone above and beyond in program duties. He was innovative with his program ideas and took the needs of his residents into consideration. The winner of the Programmer of the Year

Award goes to Neal Moriconi, Galileo resident advisor in Lee Hall.

Residence Hall Federation AwardsHall Council Community Representative The Hall Council Community Repre-sentative Award goes to a community rep that went above and beyond the call of duty. The winner of the Community Representa-tive Award goes to Caroline Gimenez of the Newman Hall Council.

Residence Life End of the Year AwardsBy: Tricia Smith, Assistant Director of Residence Life, pssmith@vt.edu

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Hall Council Public Rela-tions Officer The Hall Council Public Relations Offi-cer of the Year Award goes to a PR officer who put forth a lot of effort in advertising programs and ensuring their success. The Hall Council Public Relations Officer Award

goes to Kelly Robinson of the Triad Hall Council.

Hall Council Program-ming Officer The Hall Council Programming Offi-cer of the Year Award goes to a programming officer who planned and executed programs successfully. This person also delegated tasks fairly to other hall council members. The Hall Council Programming Offi-cer Award goes to Ryan Hawes of the Newman Hall Council.

Hall Council Treasurer The Hall Council Treasurer of the Year Award goes to a treasurer who effectively managed the budget for the hall council and allocated appropriate funds for each program. The winner of the Hall Council Treasurer

Award is Alice Herman of the Miles and John-son Hall Council.

Hall Council Secretary The Hall Council Secretary of the Year Award is given to a secretary who demon-strated a huge commitment to the organization by taking minutes, serving as historian, and being a resource for all the offi-cers. The Hall Council Secretary Award goes to Camille Walton of the Triad Hall Council.

Hall Council Vice Presi-dent The Hall Council Vice President of the Year Award is granted to a vice presi-dent who went above and beyond the call of duty and was actively involved in all aspects of the Hall Coun-cil. The winner of the Hall

Council Vice President Award is Emily Robles of the Slusher Community Council.

Hall Council President The Hall Council President of the Year Award goes to a president who led his or her Hall Council very effec-tively and had an incredible amount of dedication to RHF and the Hall Coun-cil. The winner of the Hall Council President Award is Natalie Love of the O’Shaughnessy Hall Council.

Hall Council Mentor The Hall Council Mentor of the Year Award is an executive officer of RHF who success-fully mentored his or her Hall Council. This individual made his or her Hall Coun-cil a priority and was a great resource. The winner of the

Hall Council Mentor Award is Alex Brown, RHF director of programming.

RHF Officer The RHF Offi-cer of the Year Award goes to an executive officer of RHF who had an enormous amount of dedication to the organization and worked tirelessly to promote and support it. The RHF Offi-cer of the Year is Lydia Michailow, RHF vice president of membership and legislation.

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Advisor The Advisor Award can be given to a profession-al staff member, graduate hall director, or undergradu-ate hall director serving in an advisor position that demonstrates outstanding leadership and goes above and beyond the require-

ments of his or her position. This individual made RHF a priority, attended meetings, and helped the officers wherever needed. The Advi-sor of the Year is Lynanne Hodges, RHF advisor and second-year professional staff member.

Hall Council The Hall Council of the Year Award goes to a Hall Council that put on outstanding programs and provided an excellent balance of quantity and quality. This Hall Council attended fall conference and was consistently present at RHF General Assembly meetings. The members worked hard to improve the lives of their resi-dents. The Hall Council of the Year is the Miles and Johnson Community Council.

National Residence Hall Honorary AwardsDiversity Program The Diversity Program

of the Year Award goes to a program that is unique, creative, and educational. It is a program that educates residents on the different aspects and importance of the diverse climate we live in. The Diversity Program of the Year is MOSAIC

Weekly Discussions led by Crystal Thornill in the Slusher Complex.

Educational Program The Educational Program of the Year utilizes innovative methods to educate residents on current college issues. This can be alcohol, safety, eating disorders, etc. As with all programs, this one effectively utilizes the CIM model and meets the overall needs of its target community or audience. The Educational Program of the Year is Alcohol Awareness Mocktails spon-sored by the Lee Hall Council.

Social Program The Social Program of the Year is a program that brings residents together using innovative techniques and ideas. This type of award goes to a program that effi-ciently utilizes all available resources while exceeding the goals of the program. The Social Program of the Year is “More Than Coffee: A Variety Show” presented by the Miles and Johnson Community Council.

Communi ty Ser v ice Prog ram The Commu-nity Service Program of the year is a program that is inventive and effective. This program embodies Virginia Tech’s motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve). The Community Service

Program of the Year is “Bingo at Heritage Hall” presented by Gabriel Brown of the Triad Hall Council.

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Executive Board Member The Executive Board Member of the Year is a person who holds a position in RHF, Hall Council, or NRHH that best exemplifies the leadership role while also going beyond the parameters of his or her position. The winner of Executive Board Member of the Year is Chris Martin, the RHF and NRHH liaison.

Student The Student of the Year Award can be awarded to any student of Virginia Tech that has been significantly involved on his or her hall and made a difference in the Residence Life commu-nity. The Student of the

Year Award goes to Matt Ning, undergradu-ate hall director in the Triad Community.

Community Community of the Year is award-ed to a group of people who have significantly contributed to Residence Life. This can include hall staff, theme housing, a group of students, etc. The Community of the Year is Johnson Hall, led by Stacey Bennett, graduate hall director.

Spotlight The Spotlight of the Year Award goes to anyone who does not fit in any of the other categories and has made an impact on Residence Life. This can include housekeep-ers, faculty, etc. This year’s Spotlight of the Year Award goes to Martha Lucas, housekeeper in the Campbell Community. Martha also won this award in 2009!

Mary Dee Boemker House Supervisor The Mary Dee Boemker House Supervisor of the Year Award goes to the student who has success-fully impacted the Oak Lane Community and campus. He or she is extremely enthusi-astic and dedicated to his or her job. The Mary Dee Boemker House Supervisor of the Year is Megan Prendergast.

Resident Advisor The Resident Advisor of the Year is someone who has, over the past year, consistently gone above and beyond in his or her position. This person has greatly impacted not only his or her own commu-nity, but the campus as well.

He or she has great leadership skills, possesses good role model behavior, and expresses enthu-siasm for his or her job. The Resident Advisor of the Year Award goes to Brian Bosche, second-year RA in the Slusher Complex.

Staff The Staff of the Year Award goes to the staff from a respective building that has done an exceptional job with their residents and commu-nity all year long. The Staff of the Year Award goes to Thomas and Monteith Community. On the staff: Nate Swann, graduate hall director, Kim Yackel, senior resident advisor and resident advisors Norm Hurst, Chris Martin, Catherine Christensen, and Patty Farley.

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Residence Life AwardsRyan C. Clark Award for Most Outstanding Spirit

The Ryan C. Clark award is given to a Residence Life student staff member who has illustrated extreme motivation and will toward developing his or her community, supporting resi-dence life, and embodying the true Hokie spirit of Ut Prosim (That I May Serve).

This year’s award goes to someone who is said to be a very active member of the Hokie community, a servant leader in everything he does, a peer leader in the Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity, a servant leader on the staff,

motivated, positive and an active contributor to the residence life community on many differ-ent levels. If you have ever interacted with this person, you would know that his positive spirit is contagious!

The Ryan C. Clark Award for Most Outstanding Spirit goes to Daniel “Danny” Guymon, Slusher Complex senior resident advisor.

Caitlin M. Hammaren Award for Distinguished Service to the Residential Community

The Caitlin M. Hammaren Award is given to a Resi-dence Life student staff member who has exempli-fied unyielding character and distinguished himself or herself through service to his or her community, the Residence Life commu-nity, and the greater Virginia Tech community as a whole.

This person is said to be the type of person that when you meet her, you imme-diately feel respect for her. She’s quiet, simple, and kind. She’s not your typical extroverted, get-pumped-up RA, but she moves moun-tains and quietly touches you with her sense of maturity and good-heart-edness. She is a dedicated member of the Marching Virginians, the Baptist Collegiate Ministries, and several agricultural organiza-tions that include volunteering at the barn several times a week. This person embodies what it means to be a selfless individual and creates relationships with her floor and staff, which in return contributes to the betterment of society.

The winner of the Caitlin M. Hammaren Award for “Distinguished Service to the Residential Community” is Jessica Barlow, Pritchard Hall resident advisor.

Ryan C. Clark

Caitlin M. Hammaren

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Let us know where you are!

We’re looking to connect with Virginia Tech Residence Life Alumni. Please complete the survey below to let us know how to reach you, and pass it on to

other alumni as well. You may complete the survey each time you move to update your record. Your information will remain protected and will only be used based on the preferences you select.

http://tinyurl.com/ylxgenq

Stay connected with us!

E-mail VTResLifeAlumni@vt.edu with your contact information.

Also, outline the years and positions held while you were here.

You may also find information on Facebook at the group “VT Residence Life Alumni,” and

follow us on Twitter, @VTResLife.

Homecoming 2010: A Residence Life Family Reunion

We are excited to welcome home our RHF and staff alumni October 15 and 16! Please view details and

register at www.alumni.vt.edu/reunion/ra. At this site you’ll also find a list of who’s attending. Spread the

word! We look forward to having you back on campus!

The favor of registration is requested by October 1.

V I R G I N I A P O L Y T E C H N I C I N S T I T U T E A N D S T A T E U N I V E R S I T Y

Invent the Future

Residence Life

151 New Hall West

(540) 231-6205