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