Clark- Mississippi University for Women- Week One

Activities:

• Met with supervisor, Sirena Cantrell, the Director of Housing and Residence Life at Mississippi University for Women, to learn about the department
• Met the staff in the Department of Housing and Residence Life
• Learned how to check a student’s admission status in the computer system
• Began importing housing applications into the spreadsheet
• Assigned roommates
• Compared spreadsheet information (roommate name, residence hall, and room number) to ensure that it matched the Floor Charts for each hall
• Attended a meeting with Sirena and a vendor selling fabric for new furniture or for reupholstering furniture
• Visited one of the residence halls with Sirena to meet with a group coming to stay on campus for camp 

Reflection:

My time spent at MUW this week has been great. I have met a lot of new people, and everyone has been very welcoming to me. My supervisor, Sirena, left for a housing conference on Wednesday, so Tuesday I was able to work with her, but Thursday, I worked primarily with Jenn Kay, another Housing staff member. She was so understanding and answered all of my questions which I really appreciated.

I have learned quite a bit about the Department of Housing and Residence Life at the W. They do not have a computer system to assign students roommates and place them in rooms. Everything is done via Excel spreadsheet. Sirena said that once we are done assigning students for the fall/spring, that she will be working to begin building a computer system that will do all of this. She informed me that if it is ready in time, that I may be able to provide suggestions about the system. Additionally, I learned that Counseling Services fall under the umbrella of Housing and Residence Life at the W, too. Within the main office where Housing is housed, the Student Programming Board, student organizations, International Students Office, and Residence Hall Directors offices are also here. Another interesting aspect of Sirena's job is working with vendors. I was both surprised and intrigued when we met with the vendor selling fabric for furniture. 

Something that I really liked about the W was the environment. The campus is beautiful. I love driving in the front gates on my way to practicum each week. But beyond the physical environment of campus, the office environment is very uplifting. People are very outgoing and welcoming, and overall, it just seems like it would be a fun place to work!  The only thing I am really concerned about is messing up a student’s housing assignment.  

I had a great week at MUW, and I am looking forward to learning more about the W and the Office of Housing and Residence Life!

Cochran Hall will be my new "home" during my time at MUW! This is where the Office of Housing and Residence Life is located.