Photo: Residence Life staff (left to right) Andrew Johnson, Blythe Eickerman, Holden Gaupo, Molly Burchfield, Monica Chapman, Ananda Gupta, Nancy Tavelli, Cory Kiesz, Callie Gilchrist, Quinn Sykora
In just a few days, hundreds of students will be returning to Whitman’s residence halls to start the spring semester. They will be greeted by new Resident Advisors, who have just completed 11 days of training on activities and programming, student development theory, communication and having difficult conversations, self awareness and building inclusive community.
Leading this training and coordinating so many other aspects of the student campus experience are the Residence Life staff, led by Associate Dean of Students Campus Life Nancy Tavelli and Associate Director of Residence Life and Housing Andrew Johnson. Developing young leaders and imparting skills that will last a lifetime are integral to the work Tavelli and Johnson do as they build strong and confident teams of RAs and RDs.
Further support comes from Monica Chapman, housing coordinator, Cory Kiesz, custodial supervisor, and six Resident Directors (RDs): Molly Burchfield (Jewett Hall & Douglas Hall), Blythe Eickerman (Lyman House), Holden Gaupo (Anderson Hall & the Interest House Community), Callie Gilchrist (North Hall & College House), Ananda Gupta (Stanton Hall) and Quinn Sykora (Prentiss Hall).
Gupta, who came to Whitman as an international student, says that the sense of community residence life staff created during his first year inspired him to become an RD following graduation so that he could do the same for a new generation of students. That transition from Whitman student to Whitman staff has been eye-opening in many ways, notes Gilchrist, who appreciates the bigger picture she now has about administrative processes and how the college operates.
In both behind-the-scenes work (like choosing comfortable and durable furniture) and the more dramatic crisis care of accompanying students to the ER (which every RD did at least once in the fall semester) residence life staff consistently demonstrate their deep commitment to the well-being of all Whitman students.
