Announcements July 2014

We hope that you have all been enjoying a fun and

relaxing time away from campus in preparation for
training in just 1 MONTH! Here in the Residence Life
Office, we have been busy preparing for your arrival.

TRAINING Dates and Information

NEW HIRES: You are allowed to move in to your
rooms Monday August 18th after 1pm! Your training
will begin Tuesday Aug 19 at 1pm in the Bowman South
MPR.
Returners: You are allowed to move into your
rooms Tuesday August 19th after 1pm. Your first
session is Wednesday August 20th at 4:00PM at a location
to be determined by your supervisor.
QPR Training: Returning RAs are invited to participate
in QPR Suicide Prevention Training on Wednesday 8/20 at
1:00PM. Please let Amanda know by Friday August 8th if
you would like to attend.
Keys will be located in the Office of Residence Life &
Housing until 4pm. After 4pm, keys will be available at
University Police for pick up. You only receive your room
key at the time you arrive. Staff keys will be handed out
during training by your supervisors.

Preparing for Arrival

You can return only when we have directed you to and
not any sooner! We have to make sure for cleaning
purposes that spaces are ready and for security purposes
we know who will be around and when. Should you
have an outstanding circumstance, email Josh McLear
(mclearjd@potsdam.edu) to discuss the possibility of
early arrival.

A reminder that this years theme is:

STAFF UPDATES
Weve said farewell to
Zach Lenox: After a few degrees and many years
of service to the department as an RA, Grad RD
and RD, Zach, has finally left Potsdam . After a
summer of performing in Napa, he will be making
his new home in Beverly, MA as a Residence
Director at Endicott College.
Katie Newcomb: After 4 years on the professional
staff, and 2 weeks exploring China this summer,
Katie is moving west to SUNY Geneseo where she
will be an Area Coordinator. We are also
extremely proud to announce that she will be
entering a Higher Education Doctoral program at
the University of Rochester.
Jake Offield: Like Zach, we werent sure Jake
would ever leave the North Country. He has
successfully moved south to the University of
North Carolina-Greensboro to continue his career
as a Coordinator for Residence Life.
Joe Sifferman: Joe and his lovely wife, Lindsey,
have escaped the chill of the North Country and
returned to their Alma Mater, Lee University,
where Joe is now a full time RD.
Liz Weir: As some of you may remember, Liz left
in May to pursue her dream of working as a
corrections counselor. She is still in the North
Country working at the Gouverneur Correctional
Facility as an Offender Rehabilitation Coordinator.
Noah Wilson: Noah will be continuing his career
in Residence Life at SUNY Geneseo as an Area
Coordinator. No, thats not a typo, Noah and Katie
will be working together at their new institution
and continuing to make Potsdam proud.

Announcements July 2014

And now what youve been

waiting for

various other roles. Originally from Rouses Point,

Kelsey is no stranger to the North Country and is
excited to be back up north closer to her family.

2014-2015 Residence Life Staff Placement

Bethany Geating comes to us from Philly where

she has spent the past 4 years in sales for Redbull.
A Temple University Alum (Marketing and
International Business), Bethany hopes of teaching
at the college level someday and is excited about
learning the ins and outs of Residence Life and the
student experience outside the classroom.

Knowles Area Coordinator: Kelsey Deso

Knowles Graduate Assistant: Joy Tamayo
Lehman Area Coordinator: Jason Guernsey
Lehman Graduate Assistant: Autumn Carey
Central Quad Area Coordinator: Violet
Washburn
Central Quad Graduate Assistant: Bethany
Geating
Bowman South RD: Sarah Turon
Bowman East FYE RD: Rachel Bayliss
Bowman West FYE RD: Robby Patterson
Autumn Carey is returning as a Graduate
Assistant but will be moving to lovely Lehman.
She is excited about working with the staff and a
new group of students.
Violet Washburn accepted a promotion to work
as the AC of the Central Quad. Im sure she will
miss her First Year students in Bowman East, but
will now get to work again with the residents of
the Townhouses where she began her professional
career at Potsdam.
WELCOME
Rachel Bayliss comes to Potsdam from
Binghamton University where she completed both
her undergrad ( Psychology) and Graduate (
Student Affairs Administration) degrees. Rachel
has been working as an Assistant Community
Director with upper class students in a townhouse
area and is going to be a great addition to FYE!
Kelsey Deso comes to Potsdam from Keuka
College where she completed her undergrad
(Accounting). She received her Masters in Higher
Education from Stonybrook University. While at
Keuka, Kelsey was an RA and an RD, along with

Jason Guernsey comes to Potsdam from Elmira

College where he completed both his undergrad
(Criminal Justice and Psychology) and Graduate
(Corporate and Community Education) degrees.
While at Elmira, Jason was an RA and a Residence
Life Coordinator.
Robby Patterson comes to Potsdam from Grand
View University in IowaYes, IOWA!! Robby
has been a Graduate RD for 3 years, working
mainly with First year students. He has also been
very involved with Intramurals so hit him up for a
game of basketball or volleyball over in Marshall
Park.
Joy Tamayo is joining the professional staff this
year after serving as an RA in the Central Quad
last year. After completing her Masters in vocal
performance in May, she has decided to stay in
Potsdam to pursue a second Masters degree from
Crane in Music Education.
Sarah Turon is making a short trip to s from Paul
Smiths College where she was an Area
Coordinator for a year. Prior to that, she was an
RA at SUNY Cortland. Sarah is planning to
complete her Masters in Higher Education from
Stonybrook in the spring.
The Professional staff will be on campus to begin
training on August 4th and will be in touch with you
soon.

Announcements July 2014

HOUSING
As of today, there are 35 of you who have not yet
completed your housing request and agreed to the
Housing License in Bearpaws. Although we have
waived your deposit, you still need to complete this
process. Please complete this as soon as possible so we
can move forward with your employment status. If you
have questions, please contact Amy in the main office
315-267-2350 or reslife@potsdam.edu

Who is Stacey Basford and why is she

emailing me?
As an RA, you are considered a campus employee and,
as such, are required to complete a variety of online
compliance trainings. The professional staff are also
required to complete these. Your names were provided
(by Amanda) to Stacey Basford who is the Compliance
Training Coordinator for SUNY Potsdam and a number
of other campuses. You may have already received an
email requesting that you complete some online training
sessions. This round of training must be completed by
September 30th. We will discuss this in more details
during training next month, so please dont stress about
it now. That said, if you have some time, feel free to
complete the training(s) this summer to get them out of
the way.

Speaking of training
Remember that RA training is mandatory for all staff
members. Your days will generally go from 9am-well
after dinner. Youll be working on RCRs, door tags,
bulletin boards, making your own room feel like home,
attending staff functions, etc. The Training Committee
has worked diligently to create a schedule that is both
fun and educational. Please come with an open mind,
ready to learn about yourself, your staff members and
your role as a RA.

Some things to think about:

Have you made door tags yet?

*You will need one for every resident-roster will be given
during training.

Have you thought about and started creating

bulletin boards?

How do you plan to build community on your

floor?

Competitions during Training:

o Best Bulletin Board
o Best Door Tag
o Costume and spirit contests
Here are some helpful links to get you started:
http://reslife.net/html/assistant.html
http://www.residentassistant.com/one/index.php
http://www.rahelper.com/

Student Teachers
If you are student teaching in the fall, and must
attend the Student Teaching Seminar that is held
during RA Training, please email Amanda
Grazioso (grazioaj@potsdam.edu).
You will be excused from training for only the
days/times you are in student teaching seminar.

BOOKS!!
We have made arrangements for you to pick up
your books from the bookstore during training on
Monday August 25th. In order to expedite this
process, when you order your books, please leave a
note in the comment sections that you are an RA
so the bookstore staff can put your pack aside.
During your bookstore time, you will also need to
bring a copy of your schedule.

We hope you enjoy the rest of your summer and look

forward to seeing you next month! If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact Amanda
grazioaj@potsdam.edu or 315-267-2350.
~Amanda, Eric, Josh, Amy, and Debby