10月. 6, 2023

Students earn recognition for room decorating, visit from president

A pair of Northwest 密苏里州 State University students on Thursday afternoon received a visit from a special guest who wanted to see what is now their award-winning residence hall room.

First-year early childhood education majors McKenna 黑色的 and Briana Crites answered the knock on their South Complex door at about 4 p.m. to find Northwest President Dr. Lance Tatum waiting in the hallway. Tatum was visiting to congratulate the roommates on winning the Office of Residential Life’s “Bearcat Cribs” room-decorating contest.

“You’ve got to make it some place you don’t mind coming to and hanging out,” Tatum 说 to Crites and 黑色的 as the women showed him around the room.

Clearly, the roommates have made it a space where they enjoy spending time.

“We spent a lot of time planning how we wanted to place everything because we wanted it to have that homey feeling,布莱克说.

黑色的, a native of Springfield, 密苏里州, 和暴击, a native of Lee’s Summit, didn’t know each other until they were matched as roommates in June. 很快, they took to chatting daily and planning how they wanted their room to look, drawing on their personal styles and interests.  

Their bunked beds are dressed with matching pink bed covers. On the opposite side of the room, their separate desks are personalized with books, mementos and photos. Under a large window overlooking Centennial Garden, a sitting area with an area rug and a short table provides a space where they enjoy reading and hanging out – next to a corner kitchen space with a microwave and mini fridge. A string of lights lines the perimeter of the ceiling.

“The way they set up their room was very, 非常酷的,“凯特利·科特, the South Complex resident director, 说. “We chose them to represent us because they really use the space well. It’s very cozy and welcoming.”

Students living in each of Northwest’s residence halls were invited to participate in the contest. Resident directors selected a winner within their respective residential buildings. Then, from those building winners, Dr. 玫瑰Viau, Northwest’s assistant vice president of student affairs for auxiliary services, and Director of Residential Life Mark Aubuchon selected the overall contest winner.

The Bearcat Cribs contest is an example of just one of the weekly activities Northwest residence halls organize throughout the academic year that encourage students to show their spirit and personalities while getting to know their hall neighbors.

Other contests this fall have centered on baking cookies and karaoke, and 10月 contests include a Halloween costume contest and door decorating contest. The residence halls that place highest in each of the contests earn points toward the campuswide Bearcat Hall Cup competition, and a champion is crowned at the end of the semester.

与此同时, now more than a month into their Northwest experience, 黑色的 和暴击 say they are happy with their decisions to attend the University. Both have parents who attended Northwest, and the profession-based learning opportunities available through the School of Education solidified their selection.

“I was nervous at first; I’m not gonna lie,” Crites 说. “I was like, ‘I don’t know anybody here.’ … Then I got a notification (黑色的) was my roommate, and we started talking and now I would not change a thing.”

添加黑色, “We didn’t know each other beforehand, but now you would think we’ve known each other for our entire lives. She’s like my best friend.”