THUNDER BAY – The end of summer holidays is here, and resident advisor Stuart Dee is helping students move into their home-away-from-home.
Dee joined hundreds of students Saturday as they unloaded their belongings into Confederation College’s residence for the beginning of the school year.
“My job is to basically welcome everyone here,” Dee said Saturday morning inside the Cedar house. “Making sure everyone is getting along, making sure everything is going smoothly and most importantly making sure everyone has a good time.”
The 23-year-old’s main responsibility for nine months is to provide support, encouragement and leadership to the Cedar house, ensuring a positive living environment for those in the building.
He said seeing happy faces is the best part of being a resident advisor.
“When I see a person that maybe wasn’t social at the beginning and they end up coming out of their bubble it’s just a happy feeling for me,” Dee said.
“The first couple of days is overwhelming, but you know (residence) gives you a different aspect on life and cultures, you get to learn about new things and it’s all around a great place.”
Dee added that meeting new people is a great way to start the school year.
“You might be shy, you might be outgoing, but through all the activities and everything you are going to meet someone and find common interests with a lot of people,” he said.
Dee said he met a lot of great people last year from all over Canada and even other countries, so this year is looking forward to meeting more people and seeing where they are from.
Residence General Manager Elaine Wilson said the move-in process has been quite chaotic.
“There’s so many kids we are at full capacity in all our buildings right now,” Wilson said.
The volunteers are doing their best to assist, but with more than 300 students moving in over the Labour Day weekend they are asking students to bring an entourage to help carry boxes.
Wilson said students have been checking in at Sibley Hall and picking up their keys and their welcome packages.
“They are all just trying to get settled in,” Wilson said. “We have people from Ukraine, Chile and China, so it’s kind of a whole transition for them and we are doing our best to be there for them and make sure their rooms are ready.”
Program orientation will be taking place on Sept. 6 for first year students.
