2008 Woodie Awards
Residential Life director makes system changes
Robyn Jodlowski
Issue date: 9/6/07 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
|
With experience from several different previous housing programs, including the title of assistant dean of students at Valparaiso Unversity, he is sure to be an asset to the campus, breathing new life into the residence halls.
Pedersen was inspired by SCSU's community spirit and overall goals when making the decision to move to SCSU.
"I am blessed and humbled to have been chosen to be a part of this community. My vision is for Residential Life at SCSU to be viewed as a premier campus housing program for our students, faculty and staff," he said.
"I think we have the personnel in place to move towards this vision, and I'm looking forward to the challenge."
Pedersen and Residential Life made some changes to the on-campus housing program this year. Instead of traditional Residential Advisers (RAs), the dorms now have Community Advisers (CAs) and a lower resident to CA ratio.
"We changed the name to Community Adviser to emphasize their primary role, that of building healthy, supportive and connected communities," Pedersen said.
"In that vein, we want our communities to be a place where everyone is valued, personal and academic goals are achievable and everyone has a sense of belonging or inclusion. CAs are charged with facilitating this kind of an environment."
He offered advice to incoming first-year students, stressing the importance of participating in activities on campus.
"I would encourage students to go to class everyday and get involved. We want our students to be successful in the classroom, but the total SCSU experience also includes being immersed in the co-curricular activities on campus," he said. "Research shows that students who become involved in activities, clubs and organizations are more likely to have higher GPAs, graduate on time and feel a greater sense of satisfaction during the collegiate experience."
Groups like community council and events such as Thursday's Student Organization Fair provide easy opportunities to get involved early in the year.
Fourth-year philosophy student Travis Sulander agreed with Pedersen about campus involvement.
"On-campus activities help you feel like you're experiencing college, not that you're just in college," he said.
As a former residence hall night supervisor on campus, Sulander gained a new perspective on dorm life and benefited from the experience.
"Being a night supervisor, I met a lot of people I otherwise wouldn't have met. Some of my best friends now I met while working in the dorms," he said.
Pedersen encouraged students to get involved in the SCSU community and residential halls.
"Becoming involved in your residence hall community council or having an on-campus job is a great way to make an early connection this fall," he said.
So far, things are running smoothly at Residential Life.
"Move-in time is the most labor intensive time for Residential Life, and our staff has done a remarkable job preparing for the arrival of our students. We had a great move-in weekend."