Speed Mentoring!

In November, we spent some time connecting with professionals on campus in a Speed Mentoring style round robin. 

Each Hall Director and Assistant Hall Director had 4-5 minutes to connect with these campus partners to talk about their own professional development goals and ways we can enhance collaboration for the benefit of our students and our own professional growth.  

Our Campus Partners included:

Dr. Bob Hetzel - Vice Chancellor of Finance

Kirstin Stanely - Financial Specialist

Erin Thacker - Athletics Event Coordinator

Dr. Ryan McKelly - Psychology Professor

Brad Quarberg - Director of University Communications

Becky Viandan - Director of Career Services and Academic Advising

Charlene Hoeller - Counselor in Counseling and Testing

Chef Rob - Lead Chef for Chartwells and UWL Dinning

Mic Naumann - Student Support Services

Jaralee Richter - Assistant Director of Leadership and Involvement

Corey Sjoquist - Director of Admissions

Detective Chris Schuster - University Police

Andy Oliver - Assistant Director of the ACCESS (Disability Resource) Center

Richard Sims - Office of Multicultural Student Services

Why La Crosse?

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

Nestled between bluffs and the majestic Mississippi River, the city of La Crosse offers an almost endless variety of activities and natural beauty. Situated at the heart of the city, the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse's unique location means its students, staff, and faculty are within walking distance of most services and businesses. Historic downtown La Crosse is a short 10 minute walk away.

Whether it's the breath-taking view from Grandad's Bluff, walking the winding marsh trails, getting in touch with the German heritage during Oktoberfest, or visiting the World's Largest Six Pack; there is always something to do to help you connect with this beautiful area! We encourage you to explore the two links below to learn more about what La Crosse has to offer you!

More Reasons to Love La Crosse

Hear from student body president, Jacob Schimmel and students around campus talk about why they love the University of Wisconsin La Crosse

There's No Place Like The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse

Video Video produced by UWL students Jacob Rogness & Travis Judell

This is my 25^th year at UWL... 

Nearly every day I have the good fortune of observing the people and great work being done that makes this a special place.  In my role as Director of Admissions, I share with prospective students and families why this is a special place.  One of the reasons UWL is a great choice for students to continue their education is because of the Residence Life program. UWL students are active, driven, engaged, and welcoming.  They find a strong connection to the on-campus programming both inside and outside of the halls.

 I am thankful I become involved in Residence Life at UWL as an undergraduate – first in hall government and later as a student staff member.  The Residence Life Team keeps the tradition of residential living at UWL strong.  It is awesome to work with the Leadership Team that includes those that I looked up to as role models when I was a student, those that were student staff with me, and those that I had an opportunity to supervise and mentor.  

This is such a special place and I love telling others about it!  

-Corey

University of Wisconsin-La Crosse Campus Fast Facts

Starting at the very beginning with the recruitment process...

I felt cared for and valued by the professionals in Residence Life at UWL. I chose to join the Residence Life team at UWL because I felt like everyone really took the time to get to know me during the recruitment process. I knew that they cared about me as an individual person and valued what I could bring to Residence Life. 

I felt seen, heard, and validated in every step of the process. I remember that my graduate supervisor Chris came into my office after completing a reference check phone call for me with Patrick Heise. Chris was so excited about UWL and said that after the reference call with Patrick, he knew that Residence Life was going to take care of me and that I would be a good fit there. This has been so true. I feel cared for and valued here. I feel like people care about my opinion and trust my ability to do my job.

UWL has helped me grow personally and professionally in so many ways. I’ve always been a little shy in larger groups and have a hard time sharing my thoughts. In the past year and three months at here, I’ve found my voice and have been able to share my thoughts and feelings with everyone in Residence Life in different settings. I know that people listen to me and want to hear what I have to say. I feel that I’ve come into my own and am more confident in sharing my thoughts and opinions with other professionals in the department. I have had so many opportunities to take on new things in my first professional role. The professional trust and autonomy that I’m given at UWL are incredible. I know that I was hired for a reason and that I am trusted to fulfill my role as a Hall Director.

Not only do the professional staff members at UWL make me feel valued and appreciated, but the students are also wonderful at making me feel like I am an important part of Residence Life. My students are the reason I continue to love my job and to love UWL. Everyone said that the students were wonderful when I interviewed, but I did not understand the magnitude of that until I started working on campus. My students are compassionate, caring, and motivated individuals, who are making real differences in the lives of their students every day. 

I am constantly impressed with the time and dedication they put into their positions. They care and give of their time and are always looking for ways to improve Residence Life and UWL. I know that they care about my well being and who I am as a person as much as they care about their residents. Last year, my staff and students threw a surprise birthday party for me, complete with two ice cream cakes, presents, and a good number of residents standing in front of Sanford Hall to sing to me when I got back from dinner. I felt an overwhelming amount of love and appreciation for my staff and students. This represents UWL Residence Life and the University overall to me. An outpouring of love and support from the students who live and work here for someone else. I saw my staff and students show this kind of love and support to each other all of last year and have seen it this year as well.

The La Crosse community is also a wonderful place. The natural beauty of La Crosse has turned me into an outdoorsy person, when I have never been one before. I love the bluffs and the Mississippi, and generally spend more time outside now than I ever have before in my life. La Crosse has an incredible public library, where I spend a lot of my free time, volunteering and checking out some amazing books. I also enjoy drinking great cups of coffee in so many of the coffee shops in La Crosse. Overall, the city and UWL Residence Life have been wonderful places for me to live, work, and grow. I love it here!


-Theresa Luensmann

Why University of Wisconsin-La Crosse?

My name is Megan, and I am a first year Hall Director at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. However, this is not my first year at UWL. I had the opportunity to earn my Masters degree and serve as an Assistant Hall Director for two years prior to this year. I have gotten the question many times—why did you stay at UWL? The best way for me to answer that question is the pictures above. Whether I am at staff camp trying to hurdle 10 staff member over a wall, advising an RA Conference, having a Drake Hall fort night, moving in over 250 residents, engaging in dialogue surrounding rape culture, or hitting the golf course with valued colleagues to support Multicultural Student Services at UWL every memory I have made at UWL has been valuable. 

I have grown professionally and personally, and I would make the same decision to come to UWL and stay at UWL over and over again. 

-Megan

Lauren Guzikowski

I feel so valued as a student staff member. Over the course of the last two and a half months, I have made so many connections across campus. Every time I go into ORL, the lovely receptionists Carol and Michelle know me by name, as well as many of the other Central Staff members. When I am walking around campus, I would feel comfortable saying hello to and having a conversation with all of the Pro Staff.

Res Life has allowed me to be more aware as a college student. There were so many issues I was blind to before I got educated about them in Res Life. Something we have been talking about recently is the Inclusive Negligence video and how we can make ALL of our students who live in our residence halls feel welcome and safe. I am able to appreciate and celebrate our differences as a diverse community, but not be ignorant to them. One of the most interesting topics I continue to learn about this year is the idea of different identities. Not only does this include gender, but also ability, race, religion, political views, among many other things. I have had so many opportunities to work with my staff team and discuss some of the different identities we carry with us every day, and how each human is different in their personal identities. Some identities we seldom think about, may be someone else’s main identity that they feel occupies the largest part of them.

Being a Desk Coordinator has been one of the most amazing experiences I have had. I believe I am a natural born leader, and this was the perfect step for me to take in my leadership career. Having the opportunity to be a supervisor to 16 other college students is a very unique role to have. I am learning many valuable lessons many people do not have the chance to learn until they are well into their professional career. Not only do I get to work with my desk team, but I also have an amazing team of student staff members, and also the community in which I live. I get to live in an all-freshman community, which is so awesome. They really utilize both our RA, Kara and me as resources whenever they need something. The chances I have to bond with so many people in my building, and all across campus is so special, and something I definitely value so much. I get the opportunity to converse with so many residents and their friends on a daily basis about their lives or things they are struggling with. Being a student staff member has taught me many things and I will forever be thankful for my time with Res Life here at UWL. 

Hello, my name is Miranda and I am an International Student Advisor at UWL

UWL is a unique community to call home. Campus is very student centered and La Crosse, WI is a neat place to live. There is a lot of natural beauty here and the outdoor activities are expansive. There is also a lot of cultural diversity in the greater La Crosse area. Global Initiates Week happens every early November is a unique opportunity to highlight all of our international connections by creating an awareness and inspiring action. If you wanted to escape to a bigger city Minneapolis, MN, Madison, WI and Chicago, IL are not that far away. We also have our own airport, Amtrak station and bus station. 

I work with UWL Residence Life staff on a daily basis. I have a very close and collaborative relationship with many staff in Res Life. The folks in Res Life are great to work with. They are kind, creative and easy to talk to you. We work together on a lot of programming initiatives and finding ways to enhance our student's experiences on campus. I would say it has been a mutually beneficial relationship. I have learned a lot from them and they always go above and beyond to assist in whatever ways they can. It is truly an honor to work with so many wonderful folks on campus. 

-Miranda Panzer

My story with UWL began way back in the fall of 2009

     I was a brand new hall director pre-masters and we had just hired a new Director of Residence Life.  This guy kept talking about the University of Wisconsin La Crosse and how great it was.  We went to a fall conference, and everyone he introduced me to had some connection to UWL….Little did I know that 4 years later, after acquiring a master’s degree, and moving 9 hours away from home, I would find myself at UWL working for Dr. Nick and swiftly loving this place called La Crosse.

A specific story that I would like to share was when my nephew was born.  My brother and I are particularly close and he lives in Minnesota.  I’m the closest family as our other family lives in Kansas.  Jayce (my nephew) came into this world really early.  My brother called me to share the news and needed me to get there.  (More details: I was a new HD to UWL and had only served for 1 semester, I had a brand new assistant hall director, and a staff team of 14 students.) 

I called my supervisor to let her know that I needed to leave and her response was “Yep, see you later and keep me informed of how your family is doing.” Another important piece to this story is that we were 2 weeks out from welcoming our students back on campus for spring semester and there was plenty to do.  I was able to leave to go support my brother and sister-in-law without further thought and all the support from my UWL family.  I never looked back and was able to be there for my family.  When I got back to UWL, I was welcomed with questions of “How is your nephew?”  “How is your brother and sister-in-law?”  “When are you going back?” “What do you need help with?” “Can I see pictures?”

There was never a moment when I was asked “Where are you with your work?”  In fact, folks were asking what they could take off my plate so that I wasn’t so overwhelmed. 

This is the UWL that I have come to know and love.  More importantly, the UWL that I am a part of.  The folks in Residence Life care deeply.  I’ve also found this to be true for our campus partners and other folks that I have gotten to meet since I’ve been here.  

-Allyson

My name is Amanda Abrahamson, 

I am in my second year as a Hall Director at UWL. The reason I came to UWL was the exact reason that I did not want to leave: the people are unlike any you have every had the opportunity to work with. I was an undergraduate student at UWL, and spent three out of my four years working as an RA in the Office of Residence Life. For the last eight years (as a student, when I was away, and now that I have been back) I have felt incredible valued by Residence Life at UWL. Every time I walk into the office I am greeted enthusiastically, and it is nearly impossible to come in and out without stopping to chat about everything and nothing. The people that work in Residence Life at UWL truly care about you not just as a professional, but as a person as well. It would be very out of character for me to not talk about one of the many great things that the department has incorporated into practice: the pet policy. I have always wanted a dog, and find great balance by having a dog in my life, and Residence Life at UWL recognizes the benefits that pets can provide for life in professional staff. Jack joined the UWL Residence Life family on October 1^st of 2015, and has become a point of pride for a lot of the residents of White Hall. Jack loves people and people love Jack, and it is nearly impossible to get across campus without students wanting to interact with him. People in the main office recognize how much I love Jack, and ask me often how he is doing and if he is enjoying his walks – this is just another example about how much the professional staff care.

The students at UWL are also incredible. They are motivated, responsible, academically focused, and very involved in many places. When our students have ideas (which is often) we encourage and support and help make their dreams come true. Last academic year a couple of RAs on campus came up to me and pitched an idea they were very excited about: Flick and Float. They wanted to show a movie in the pool on campus, and this is not a program that has happened on campus in quite some time, so there was no experience to draw from. All I had to do was order the movie and show up because the students helping were so incredible excited and motivated to put forth the work for a successful program. Our students also just want to spend time with you and get to know you. There is never a long stretch of time that I am alone in my office, because students are always popping in for a couple minutes or a couple hours to hang out. These are just a few of the many reasons that I think the students at UWL are so special.

UWL and the Office of Residence Life has been my home for the last six of eight years. I love this place and I love the people here. If you are looking for a place that will give you the support you need as a professional, the freedom to find your professional identity, and the students to make your experience unforgettable, consider UWL!

Our Motivated and Ambitious StudentsVideos by: James Bushman, University Communications (former UWL RA)

Our Student Staff (Resident Assistants/Desk Coordinators/ Senior Staff) continue to impress us and are truly engaged in their academics as well as the community.  The two students highlighted in these videos were important members of our UWL Residence Life family during their recent time at UWL.

Katie Svitavsky: UW-L student Katie Svitavsky has a lot to look back when she thinks about her college career. The faculty and staff member she's worked with find it easy to brag about it.

Haley Cassidy: Hoeschler Award Winner encourages others to get involved!

My Graduate Assistantship Experience
By Dylan Kersten, RHAC Graduate Assistant

I am a second year graduate student in the student affairs administration master's program on campus. UW La Crosse (UWL) was appealing to me because the program requires students to have a graduate assistantship in order to gain practical experience in a student affairs functional area. I didn't have a lot of experience in residence life as an undergraduate and was interested in seeing what it had to offer. I joined the department as one of the advisors for the Residence Hall Association Council, in addition to helping out with other assignments when necessary.

There is a balance that needs to be struck as a graduate student of balancing both our academics and our work load. I feel that I have been able to successfully achieve that while working in this department. I feel as though residence life has a bad reputation for being too much work and I haven't found that to be the case in my time here. I feel as though they are understanding and supportive of my academic obligations, and I appreciate that this understanding doesn't come at the expense of my credibility in the department. Even though I am still a student, I feel valued as a professional in the office.

I enjoy UWL because students on this campus tend to be very engaged, especially within their residence halls. They actually enjoy forming connections with the professional staff, and I believe that is in part due everyone being very approachable. ORL places a strong emphasis on the importance of the student voice, which I believe has had a very positive impact on students' willingness to engage.

As a member of the Office of Residence Life, I believe we have high standards of one another because our performance has a strong impact on the experiences of residential students. Due to these high expectations, we hold each other accountable and strive for excellence each and every day. We are dedicated to developmental experiences, which is evident in our support of conference attendance, in addition to the willingness of the department to host conferences, either on campus or in the La Crosse Community.