Kate Wofford Hall (Part 1)

During this week, I’m going to do a series on my experiences at Winthrop University as the Residence Director of Wofford Hall. I’ve had this post planned for a few weeks now and have been so excited about it. My time in Wofford Hall was really one of the most fun experiences I’ve ever had. The girls I worked with (the RAs) have known about this series for a while now and have helped me with some of the writing. As we’ve shared some of our memories with each other, I’ve remembered so many things from those 2 years that have made me laugh and smile. I hope you have as much fun with this as we have had!

This is the story of an RD, 14 RA’s, and a little place called Kate Wofford Hall …

Back in the spring of 2000, I was in the middle of graduating from Anderson College and deciding which graduate program I would attend. Factored into my decision of which school I would choose was where I would live and what I would do to earn money. Each school to which I was accepted had assistanceships through their individual psych department, but the thought of being a research assistant or a teaching assistant was not high on my list of interesting jobs. Plus, I had to worry about where in the world I would live and had no idea how I would pay for it. The head of the School Psych Dept. at Winthrop mentioned to me that there were jobs available through the Residence Life Department as the person in charge of one of the residence halls – a Residence Director. That definitely piqued my curiosity! I didn't know what it entailed, but I found out it paid more money than one of the department jobs AND I would have a free place to live ... the RD apartment in the residence hall, which was not glamorous by any means, but it was FREE! Plus free meals! I don’t even remember the application process; I just remember the next thing I knew, I was in the middle of an interview with Julie, Renee, and JT, the three AD’s (Area Directors … you eventually learn all of the Residence Life lingo!).

Let me say up front, I had NO experience and NO qualifications for this job other than the fact that I lived in the dorms at Anderson College. I was not involved in Residence Life in the least at AC and why they ended up hiring me at Winthrop, I still don’t know. All I am sure of is that the Lord had a hand in that hiring and knew the girls I would meet through this job would be just what I needed in my life at that time. I don’t remember what they asked me in the interview, except the one question that I stumbled on. But suddenly I was hired, and I was the new Residence Director of Wofford Hall, a girls’ dorm that housed 400 predominantly freshman women. I was expected at RD training a week before my psych program actually started, and I was NERVOUS!

P.S. Happy Birthday to me!! :)