What is it like to live in a residence hall at a college full of college students and raising a family - not easy! But, over the last twenty years of life and the entire eighteen years of my marriage my wife and our three kids have lived in residence halls and I believe that the experience will benefit my children for the rest of their lives. We have lived with students from around the world, any number of religious affiliations, sexual orientations, and a wide array of learning disabilities. The experience is one which has shaped my life profoundly and continues to do so each and every day.
I have worked with students through the first gulf war, the California fires, midwestern tornadoes, 9-11, Katrina, family deaths and family births. I have had two of my residents die and many of my residents have moved on to marry and raise families of their own. Many of my colleagues have moved on to dean ships and administrative positions at other colleges while I stay here working with my students. Over my time in the halls I have probably been intricately involved in the saving of a dozen lives in emergency situations and hopefully countless more from my efforts on a day to day basis. I have no illusions about what I do, I feel I am like a park ranger that tries to show where the good trails are, the tougher trails, and the really dangerous trails. It shocks me when I look back and think of all the lives that have impacted me and can only hope that I have impacted some of them the same way.
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