Colleen Gill, senior vocal music education major, has enjoyed the convenience of living on-campus for the past three years. Instead of changing something she was happy with, Gill decided to remain on campus for one final year.
Although it seems that a lot of students get fed up with living on campus or just aren't lucky enough to make the housing lottery, Gill is one the College's many seniors who decided to make the College their home for four years.
"I like the social aspect of living on campus, such as the dining halls, social events and living in a tight-knit community," Gill said.
Having guaranteed housing as a freshman and sophomore, Gill lived in Wolfe and New Residence Halls. When lottery time came, she was lucky enough to make the cut-off for her junior year, getting herself a spot at Townhouses East. Gill liked it so much that she chose to come back for her senior year.
"I love living in East," she said. "It is social, yet having my own room allows me privacy any time. It gives me the feel of living on my own without all the actual hassles of responsibility, like grocery shopping or monthly bills."
Along with enjoying the housing environment, Gill loves the ease that living on campus gives her.
This semester, a typical day for Gill begins at 9 a.m. and is practically filled until she goes to bed at night. Gill is busy with what most students at the College ae busy with: going to class, getting work done, exercising and, of course socializing too.
With so many responsibilities filling up her schedule, Gill says living on campus allows her hectic schedule to at least be convenient.
"The convenience of being able to run back to your room between classes or at any point during the day is great, especially because I usually forget things there," Gill said.
On top of all the aforementioned responsibilities, as a music major, Gill must fit in time to practice her singing. Gill practices about two to three hours a day, sometimes on top of an hour-long voice lesson.
In addition to that, Gill has participated in the Opera Theatre shows for the past three years. This was no light commitment, and it filled up Gill's days even more.
"When I did the show, the rehearsals were from 7 to 10 p.m. every night and I had up to six classes per day," Gill said. "It was during those days that I was especially glad to live on campus. I loved walking back to my room after a long day versus having to get in my car and driving."
Gill said a lot of her friends also chose to live in the residence halls all four years to enjoy all the advantages of campus life. Among their favorite things about living on campus are being able to leave for classes later than if they had to drive, the convenience of being able to meet for group work, going to the gym or practice and also having the convenience of a job within walking distance for those with on-campus jobs.
Even with all these advantages, some students may think that living on campus is very limiting due to rules and regulations. However, this has not been the case for Gill.
"I haven't felt limited at all. The only thing on-campus housing doesn't provide is some of the responsibilities that go along with off-campus housing," Gill said. "I don't mind that too much, though. I'm in no real rush to get into the real world."
Having enjoyed her housing situation at the College, Gill is disappointed to see other students aren't getting the same experience she did.
"A major down-point to the situation now is how juniors and seniors didn't get housing through the apartment fiasco," Gill said. "I know seniors living in Norsworthy and Centennial while sophomores are living in Townhouses West. I don't think that is fair at all."
Still, Gill is satisfied with her decision to stay on campus and is thankful that everything has worked out.
"The lottery system is tricky," she said. "I was lucky to randomly get housing all four years. I'm very happy with my living situation."
