50 Years of Residence Life

Former Residence Life members
reminisce about old times with some
help from photos from the past.

Former resident directors (RDs) and resident advisors (RAs) celebrated "50 Years of Residence Life" with a Welcome Back Happy Hour, walking tours conducted by current resident advisors, and a barbecue hosted by Mark DeRitis, associate dean of Students for Residence Life.

"It really felt like old friends getting together and enjoying each others' company," said DeRitis. "RAs and RDs develop close relationships with each other and with the Residence Life staff. It is very much a community."

Civil & Environmental Engineering graduate Vincent DeGregorio '80, '83 (MS) '87 (PhD) agreed. "I really enjoyed being an RA and RD. It gave me a break from my studies and I met a lot of great people I still keep in touch with. I've come back regularly over the last 20+ years to see Mark, Steve Newkofsky, and Don Dangremond."

Vince is director of Facilities and Operations for Greenburgh Central School District in Hartsdale, N.Y. He oversees 10 schools, 200 acres of land, 600,000 square feet of building space and a staff of 45. As an undergraduate and graduate student he was an RA at Hamlin-Powers, Cubley-Reynolds, and the Main Street Apartments and was an RD for two years in Price Hall.

"No question. I developed conflict resolution and communication skills as an RA," Vince said. "I also had to provide leadership. Much of what I learned about dealing with people in the Clarkson residence halls has helped me to manage people effectively today."

Dianna M. Jones Herrmann '85 (CEE) of Burlingame, Calif., spent three years as an RA. "I have really nice memories associated with being an RA. The Residence Life staff was really helpful and supportive. After a tough night of working out problems, it was nice to sit down and talk it through with the staff. I remember a first-year student who had a lot of problems adjusting to college life later thanked me for helping her find her way. That meant a lot."

Dianna also recalls the challenges of the job. "I was an RA when the N.Y. State drinking age changed from 18 to 19. A lot of students wanted to celebrate their last night of drinking. It was a busy night."

For Melissa Powers '87, '90 (MBA), three years of experience as an RA and RD at Clarkson may well have set the course for her professional life. Melissa is the associate director of Residence Life at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.

"The best part of being an RA at Clarkson was working with the students and the staff. The more challenging parts were dealing with parties and policy enforcement," says Melissa who attended the reunion with husband Kevin Powers '88 (Ma). "I've been in residence life professionally for more than nine years now, though my involvement has been more in overseeing operations and offering indirect support. Though times and expectations have changed, many of the challenges remain the same."