Most University of Memphis dorm dwellers flee from their tight living areas after their freshman years. However, one crowd, made solely of people who have already graduated from college, deliberately live in campus residence halls.
These people are Assistant Area Coordinators. They perform a number of duties, such as reporting maintenance problems to the Physical Plant, dealing with dorm inhabitants who sneak in boyfriends or girlfriends, and watching over other residence advisers.
Still, there is a part of the job that brings genuine satisfaction to these ACs: interacting with their fellow dorm residents and making a positive impression on their lives.
Nick Conway, who is working toward his second bachelor's degree at The U of M, is Assistant Area Coordinator for West, Mynders and South halls. Aside from basic tasks, Conway said he gets self-fulfillment from aspects of his job.
"It's rewarding seeing students grow professionally and as a person," said Conway, a former residence adviser. "I try to help them any way I can and to make them better citizens."
Often the position requires intervening with "general issues" -- visitation, noise, alcohol and drugs, Conway said.
"When something like this happens, I make the student familiar with policy and try to help prevent further incidents," Conway said.
Graduate student Steve Kreider, who performs many area coordinator functions without bearing the official title, has participated in numerous student development activities in his native South Hall.
The dorm has played host to three different programs: one devoted to personal development, the other two geared toward academic and community development, respectively. Kreider has had roles in arranging for English professors to speak to South Hall residents about writing mechanics. Other activities have ranged from instrumental music introduction to the basics of weightlifting and even voter registration.
Kreider, a graduate of Penn State University now working on a master's degree at The U of M, reaps satisfaction from just being available for any South Hall resident wishing to talk.
"Undergrads want somebody they can relate to when it comes to conversation," Kreider said. "They want to talk to someone who's been through college, but isn't 30 or 40 years old."
Danny Armitage, associate dean of students at The U of M, appreciates these coordinators."While it's true that most students vacate the dorms after their freshman year, we have a higher residence hall retention rate than most Conference USA schools," Armitage said. "Take in to consideration all the cheap apartments available in the area, we're doing very well with retention."Armitage attributed the staying power of many U of M campus residents to the positive feeling of residence halls, which is one of Kreider's and Conway's goals as Assistant Area Coordinators.Armitage's example is Commercial Appeal reporter Jody Callahan, a U of M graduate who stayed in Robison Hall during his college years. Callahan spoke to Armitage years after graduation and professed admiration for his stay in Robison."Mr. Callahan told me that many of his good friends are the same ones who lived in Robison with him at the time," Armitage said.
