QUINCY - Rev. Dr. Colleen Derr, President of Eastern Nazarene College (ENC), revealed an inspiring new vision aimed at fostering growth and advancement within the institution. Addressing members of the College on April 11, Dr. Derr outlined four key areas of focus...
For many, dorm life is a big part of transitioning from living at home with your family into adult life. Taking your first steps into the “real world” can be a daunting experience.
College may be the first time you’ll live on your own.
While this is an exciting time, it can also be kind of stressful. There are responsibilities to independent living that you’ve never had to worry about before. And the prospect of sharing this new space with a roommate who’s basically a stranger might be uncomfortable.
In order to ease that anxiety, we’ve put together this article to share some tips and tricks for living on your own and give you a glimpse of dorm life at ENC.
The first step to living in a dorm on ENC’s campus is turning in your Housing and Commuter Application (which can be accessed through the ENC student portal). This way we know to begin the process of finding you a dorm room to live in for the next year.
Once the ball is rolling, we work with you to match you with a roommate. (Some dorms have single rooms, but many students will be living with another person.) If you want to request a specific roommate, you can do so until late June.
Picking a roommate is an important decision for any college student. The ideal person is someone whose habits and values align well with yours.
Here are a few things to think about when picking a roommate:
If you don’t know anyone, or want to room with someone new, that’s an option too! We’ll pair you with someone we think you’ll work well with based on your application.
Once you’re with your roommate, it’s still a good idea to go over some of the topics mentioned above, like cleanliness and communication, in order to avoid unnecessary conflict down the road.
Adjusting to dorm life requires balancing having everything you need with not cluttering your room with what you can do without.
For starters, there are some essentials you don’t need to bring because ENC provides them for you. Every student in an ENC dorm is provided with:
What you bring depends on your specific needs as a student. We have a good list to get you started. It also includes a few things not to bring, like toasters, candles, or animals, in order to keep you and your neighbors safe.
Though many college students have probably been doing their own laundry at home for a while, there are a few things to keep in mind when doing laundry at college that might be a little different from how it worked at home.
At ENC, every hall has its own free-to-use washers and dryers for the students who live there. Those machines serve a lot of people though, and you wouldn’t want to lug your laundry all the way to the machines only to find that they’re all full.
That’s why it’s useful that ENC’s laundry machines are connected to the internet so that you can scope out which machines are free before walking down to the laundry room. You can even check the time left on your laundry, from your phone or computer!
And don’t forget, even though the washers and dryers are free, you are responsible for bringing your own laundry detergent!
Each floor in every residence hall has a residential assistant, or RA, who is there to help make ENC feel like a second home. RAs are undergrads like you who have undergone a rigorous selection process to earn their job.
An RA’s responsibilities are to help foster a healthy and friendly community on the floor. They do this by organizing community events, where you can meet and enjoy the company of your floormates.
RAs can also help you out if you have any questions about adjusting to college life, especially questions about your dorm life. An RA is also a good person to go to in order to help arbitrate any disputes that might arise with your roommate. And they’re your go-to person if you find yourself locked out of your dorm room.
In general, RAs are responsible and mature members of your community, happy to help ease your transition into college and dorm life.
No matter where you’re coming from, we want to make sure ENC can be a second home for you while you’re with us. That’s why it’s important to us to help you feel prepared for dorm life.
As a Christ-centered college just outside of Boston, ENC is ready to provide you with a rigorous and exciting college experience while also providing for your social and spiritual needs.
If you’re interested in learning more about Eastern Nazarene College, reach out to us today!
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