Dana Rodriguez-Seijas is new resident director for east campus

By Janee Mitchell - Feature Writer

After a long determination process, UIS housing chose its new east side resident director. Loni Oehlwein, resident director of west campus housing, said housing received applications from all over the U.S. and 2 outside the U.S. after listing the position opening nationwide. Oehlwein said the applications were screened down to a select number for phone interviews and then on campus interviews. The search committee made up of both housing and non-housing members delivered a recommendation to John Ringle who then made the final decision. Oehlwein said Dana Rodriguez-Seijas was chosen “as the best fit for our department, residents, and the campus community.”

The opening for a resident director in east campus opened after “a chain of events, said Oehlwein. The previous assistant director of housing relocated and Marque Haupert, previous resident director of east campus housing, moved into the assistant director's position this past summer. Rodriguez-Seijas has worked in the housing department for 2 years and she said during that time she grew to love the department. When the position for resident director of east campus housing opened up Rodriguez-Seijas said she had “a lot to offer the housing department as a resident director, but more importantly there is a lot of opportunity for growth and experience, which was exactly what I was looking for.”

Both Oehlwein and Rodriguez-Seijas said not much of a change is expected due to the shift in leadership. However, Rodriguez-Seijas said, “I feel that Marque Haupert is an excellent supervisor who has gone above and beyond as the resident director of east campus apartments. What I can say is that I will do my very best to meet and if possible exceed previous standards that have been set for the position.”

Oehlwein said, “there will not be any major changes, but mainly ‘enhancements.' The housing department is re-organizing its physical office in the housing commons, which will better serve staff and residents with its new layout.” Oehlwein also said they are “working to develop living and learning communities in our apartments for fall 2006, and the new resident director will be a big part of that development. Housing staff will be working together to continue to bring positive and educational programming to campus housing residents in the upcoming year, and the new resident director will be a very big part of that as well.”

Rodriguez-Seijas is a recent graduate and is currently a graduate student in political studies and as the new east campus resident director she said she plans to contribute to the personal and academic growth of the residents.

Oehlwein said, “Dana is a former RA that housing staff still like to refer to as the Energizer Bunny. Dana has skills, knowledge, and drive to positively impact the housing team…The housing staff knows Dana is up for the challenge.” Rodriguez-Seijas celebrated her victory on Friday over dinner with her family.

UIS student teaches in Jamaica

By Laura Camper - General Assignment Reporter

Imagine going to school in a building with no roof.  Students of all ages are gathered in one room with portable chalkboards separating the space into classrooms.  The classes are noisy, dirty and resources are scarce.  You often have to share a book with your neighbor because there are not enough books to go around.

Now imagine having to teach in that classroom.  That is what UIS senior Kevin Parker did this summer.  

Parker went on a UIS Study Abroad Trip to Jamaica from May 15 to June 5 where he tutored local children in math, English and computer literacy.  He felt the frustration of teaching about 80 students on only eight working computers. He says the children were loud and unruly in response to the difficult surroundings.

Parker says that although the Jamaicans recognize the need for good education, with 55 percent of the annual budget going to debt relief not much is left for other priorities. Add to that damage from Hurricane Ivan that devastated many communities like Malvern and Treasure Bay in 2002 and you have a nearly impossible situation.

Parker's trip was a service-based experience that allowed him to interact with people in the community and learn about the culture firsthand. Parker says that the service aspect was one of the things that intrigued him about the trip.  “I wanted an opportunity to work with the people, not just be on vacation, lying on the beach,” Parker says. 

That is just the attitude that instructor Dr. Jan Droegkamp would like to foster in the students. Droegkamp was a Peace Corps volunteer in the 1970s and has a 33-year history with Jamaica . She got the idea of arranging a trip for students through UIS when she was visiting Jamaica two years ago. “I wanted to set-up a mini Peace Corps experience,” she says.

Droegkamp says the trip was very easy to arrange because there were so many people excited about the idea. Once she found a suitable community, (on the beach of course - we are dealing with students, after all) she said everything just fell into place after a few e-mails and telephone calls.

During his three-week trip, Parker and seven other students stayed with host families.  Parker says his host family, Ian and Angel Holmes and their children, was great. “They were very open and let me into their family and treated me as one of their own.”

He says some of the experiences he will remember the most took place in the Holmes home: conversations with Angel about women's rights, the economy, music, her children and a host of other topics such as playing games with the kids; the excitement he felt when he could finally understand and have a conversation with Ian.

His work in Malvern allowed him to meet Jamaicans and learn about their culture through real-life interactions. “I appreciated how we were given the freedom to explore the island on our own and create unique experiences,” he says.

Parker worked with Peace Corps volunteers on various service projects in the communities. His assignments included two days a week at the Science and Resource Centre in Malvern.  He worked in the building, badly damaged by Hurricane Ivan, moving water damaged books into dry rooms and built bookshelves to hold them.  He helped pry open damaged windows that had swollen shut in order to get much needed ventilation in the building.

He also worked on a project with Mark, a Peace Corps volunteer, to alleviate a sanitation problem in town.  They sawed the tops off old barrels, cleaned them out, painted them and placed them around town so that garbage cans would be available to residents. 

Parker says he knows that he can't fix all the problems the people of this Jamaican community face, but through his work he was able to offer to help, make friends and show the community residents that he cares. He says that is what made the experience worthwhile.

For information about the Jamaican Study Abroad Trip or other study abroad opportunities at UIS visit www.uis.edu/internationalaffairs/studyabroad.htm or contact the Office of International Affairs at 206-6678.

Dana Rodriguez-Seijas is new resident director for east campus

UIS student teaches in Jamaica