I am living in the Lore El Center on campus where I serve as the Resident Assistant. The mission of the residence hall is to increase awareness of women's issues and build a supportive, dynamic atmosphere in the house and throughout campus. Through programming, the students develop their leadership, interpersonal, academic, and professional skills.
Located on "frat row", it is a beautiful house that is very reminiscent of the fraternity and sorority houses. As a matter of fact, freshman usually mistake the seventeen residents and the house for being a sorority!
Although it is not affiliated with Greek life, a lot of the functioning of the house and the goals are very reminiscent to that of a sorority. I know that I initially chose to live in Lore-El last year as a resident, because it was a way for me to develop my leadership, serve the community, and meet other girls on campus that I didn't already know through athletics or my sorority.
As the RA now, I have had the pleasure to see the house as both a resident and now as the RA. The place is truly a home away from home. The house is very tight knit. Frequently, I'll walk by the lounge and see the ladies studying or just hanging out. As a matter of fact, we just hosted a Holiday Party this past weekend; it was a good way to enjoy the weekend before finals started with holiday movies and tons of food! Furthermore, we organize monthly breakfasts where we can relax and talk about our weekends. On Tuesday nights, the ladies open up the house and there is usually a group of people watching "Glee" on TV in the lounge!
In addition to serving the women within the house, we also help with women's initiatives on campus. One of the residents holds chemistry reviews for the freshmen. At her last review session, there were between 30-40 freshmen in the house... it was awesome! Another highlight is that one of the residents writes a women's article for the school newspaper.
It's been a great semester for the house, and I am very excited to see what's in store for next semester!
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