When you take two complete strangers, drop them into an 11’x16’ room for an entire year and expect them to live amicably, there’s bound to be some frustrations. At MSOE, our goal is to have residence life be an integral and positive part of the college experience—one in which roommates and floor mates provide valuable support and encouragement during the academic year and often remain friends long after graduation. For Residence Life Coordinator Cheryl Crawford, a positive campus living environment involves much more than just basic room and board. “Living in the residence halls provides an immediate connection to campus,” said Crawford. “We know that the sooner first-year students become engaged in their campus environment the more likely they’ll be successful on campus, and that’s our number-one concern. When they’ve had a stressful day, it’s very comforting to come back to their ‘home away from home’ and have someone there who they can talk to and commiserate with.” Matching up the right roommate pair is more of an art than a science. As part of their housing application students complete a questionnaire providing information about their sleep habits, social interactions and cleanliness tolerance, among other things. From there, each application is read by a member of the Housing Department and carefully hand-selected to match with another applicant. “Of course, sometimes there are mismatches because a piece of paper can never completely capture someone’s personality, but you’d be surprised. More often than not we get it right,” said Crawford.
Jon and Vince
In the case of freshmen Jon Braaten (mechanical engineering) and Vince Esposito (civil engineering), the Housing Department got it right. “We just get along well,” said Esposito. “We help each other with homework, we shoot pool. We share a lot of the same friends and do a lot of the same things.” When it came to planning out the room before move-in, living in two different states (Braaten in Montana and Esposito in Illinois) was no problem. “When we got our housing assignment we Facebooked each other,” said Braaten. “And from there we texted back and forth. Vince’s mom was on top of it—she got us the microwave, TV and radio. She also got a bunch of cleaning supplies, but we told her we wouldn’t need those,” joked Braaten. For Braaten and Esposito, respecting each others’ space is key to maintaining a friendship in cramped quarters. Esposito tends to do most of his studying at night. “I was worried at first
because I stay up late and didn’t want to bother Jon,” he said. “But now I just go up to the 12th floor and study up there.” For Braaten, meanwhile, cleanliness is not a top priority. “My side of the room is messier, but I try to keep it clean for Vince because he’s a neat freak,” said Braaten. “As long as Jon keeps his stuff on his side of the room I don’t mind,” said Esposito. Both men are quick to note the benefits that come from living in the residence halls. “Living in the dorms, you get to meet so many more people,” said Braaten. “I have a friend who commutes and he doesn’t know anyone. He just doesn’t see people often enough to make a connection.” Esposito enjoys
“If I have a question about something, I can just go across the hall and ask someone,” said Esposito. “You can easily find help, whether it be from students or an RA [resident assistant], and you don’t even have to leave the building.” having people nearby if he has a question with homework. “If I have a question about something, I can just go across the hall and ask someone,” said Esposito. “You can easily find help, whether it be from students or an RA [resident assistant], and you don’t even have to leave the building.”
Danielle and Lisa For nursing graduates Danielle Seefurth ’08 and Lisa Zoulek Tran ’08, living in RWJ room 516 was so much fun that they kept it going—moving to Regents Hall sophomore year and an off-campus apartment for their remaining two years. “Lisa now lives in California but we still maintain a wonderful friendship despite the distance,” said Seefurth. Seefurth and Zoulek Tran both had the option of living at home, but decided to give on-campus housing a shot. “My
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