Resident assistants, residence hall directors spend winter break, holidays on campus

Credit: Jason Hall

Not everyone will be home for the holidays.

For select resident assistants and residence hall directors, the holidays will be spent on campus.

Brian Hellwig, RHD of Allerton Apartments, will spend his second winter break in the residence halls this December.

“Last year was the first time I was never able to make it home for Christmas,” he said. “I was on campus for the entire winter break.”

According to Nadia Alamo, graduate assistant with the Department of Residence Services, more students are choosing to stay on campus during winter break.

“The number of students is increasing slowly,” she said. “Anywhere from 75 to 100 students stay over the course of winter break. Many students stay for the whole break, like our international students or grad students. Others are here except for the holidays, and others come and go sporadically.”

In order to accommodate residents, two RHDs and seven RAs who apply to stay on campus, will be on duty in the winter break halls, Alamo said.

“(RHDs and RAs) are charged with maintaining a safe and positive living environment for anyone staying in the halls,” said Amy Quillin, associate director of Residence Services.

Hellwig said his duties last year consisted of typical RHD responsibilities: rotating duty nights and being on-call for any incidents that arise while the offices are closed.

Along with keeping residents safe, Hellwig said special holiday programming in Allerton Apartments helps bring holiday joy to residents.

“At Allerton, we always have a Christmas program for the children,” he said. “Santa comes and passes out gifts to all the kids.”

For some, this is a new experience.

“This is the first American Christmas that some of our international student residents get to experience, so we try to make it as enjoyable as possible for them,” Hellwig said.

Not all halls, however, are successful with holiday programming.

“Winter break is always very quiet,” Alamo said. “We have tried to do social programming in the past to get students out of their rooms (to) meet other winter break students. This is difficult with students in four different buildings.”

Hellwig said staying in the halls during break offers several advantages.

“The campus is very quiet,” he said, “and you can easily find a parking spot on campus. I’ve always enjoyed it because it allows me a chance to unwind and get ready for the next semester. It’s a pretty relaxing time to work in the office.”

Despite the advantages, Hellwig said he plans to go home for Christmas this year. He said his mom came to Kent to celebrate with him last year because he could not go home.

“My mom would kill me if I didn’t go home this year,” Hellwig said.

Contact room and board reporter Stephanie Park at [email protected].