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Most incoming college freshmen share one common memory. As summer fun
picks up, everyone runs eagerly to their mailbox in hopes of finding
those precious envelopes from their new school. Finally the day comes
and everywhere soon to be college freshmen tear into their housing
packets. Immediately they find all the information they’ve been
waiting for—number of roommates, roommates’ names/addresses, room
numbers, buildings, bathroom types, etc. Suddenly college seems so
near; everything’s exciting. No one ever takes the time to realize the
hard work that went into putting together that prized packet. Working
in the ResLife Office this June I saw first hand all of the time our
housing clerk Tracy McFarland puts into her job and the very process
that makes these memories possible. Having already placed over a thousand returning students, during June
Tracy worked non-stop finalizing the placement of 1500 incoming
freshmen. With construction of a new building in its final phases and
renovation of another building just beginning, bed-spaces were limited,
making placement even more challenging. Tracy came into work each
morning with a smile on her face, ready to tackle the housing cards she
had systematically sorted into piles in the corner of the office. I
was continually amazed by her patience. People from various
departments across campus would come in daily to see if she was done
yet. With an established deadline of the end of June, people pestering
her during the second week of the month was enough to rattle my nerves,
but not Tracy. She always was very kind as she smiled and replied,
“I’m getting there.” The same patience was shown as parents and
students called with questions such as, “when will I know where I
live?”, “is it too late to reque
st a roommate?”, “can I change my top building choices?”. I don’t
know many people who could handle so many requests coming from so many
different directions. Ahead of schedule, the last room was filled with freshmen and Tracy
breathed a sigh of relief. Now it was time to print off everyone’s
cards and stuff the housing packets. Even though there were enough
student workers to complete this task, Tracy did not hesitate to spend
hours upon hours putting the finishing touches on her biggest project
of the year. No matter where on campus students live or what year they are, Tracy
has worked hard on their behalf, even though they are not aware of it.
Without her we would be homeless; our buildings, empty. In just the
month of June I’ve developed a fond appreciation of Tracy and all of
the great qualities she brings to our ResLife Office. I can think of
no person more deserving of the Spotlight OTM for June. Word Count: 456
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