What is the best part about living in Corrado Hall?
If you thought “the close community,” then you wouldn’t be the only one.
Is it their After-Mass Socials where residents enjoy the occasional spaghetti dish? Or maybe it's the biannual inter-wing Hall Olympics where residents entertain friendly competition with each other in a series of games and races.
For the debut Hall Crawl column, I had a front-row seat at the many Corrado Hall community-building events in September. As a visitor of Corrado, I met hall staff and residents and experienced the dorm community first-hand.
So, is Corrado really the community they claim to be?
Since its opening in 1998, Corrado Hall staff and residents have cultivated a fun and inclusive community that supports students’ transition to college life.
A large reason for their success is their aim to host nightly all-hall or wing events that students from all over campus can enjoy, according to Assistant Hall Director Allie Vaught.
For Hall Director Lexi Totten, these events are designed to meet residents’ needs, like academic and emotional support, while staying true to the hall’s spirit of fun and light-hearted nature.
“We want residents to feel empowered to reach out for their own sake, rather than going through family or friends,” Totten said. “We have so many students with different needs that we’re constantly adapting to and making sure we connect students with the resources they need.”
After-Mass Social
One of the events where residents can connect with others who have shared interests is After-Mass Social (AMS).
Around 9:45 p.m., an influx of residents entered the Corrado lobby after having attended hall Mass to enjoy Vaught’s freshly cooked spaghetti and mingle.
For first-year residents like Emmanuel Koenig, the After-Mass Social provides an opportunity to make connections after the shared experience of Mass.
“I come from Mass, and we all hang out [in the lobby],” said Koenig. “It’s pretty fun, we all just chat.”
Despite the late hour of the event, the energy in Corrado's lobby is high when residents and hall staff gather around the spaghetti pot.
Swig Sunday
Swig Sundays occur every other Sunday in and around Vaught's apartment for residents to relax and indulge in Swig-inspired dirty sodas.
A popular event, many residents spend this time chatting with friends and refueling on the lounge sofas during their Sunday night studies.
Vaught says the events in Corrado are entirely dependent upon student requests for new and old traditions.
“The food-based events are the most successful because college students are always down for free food wherever they can get it,” Vaught said. “That’s why we decided to bring back the fan-favorite, Swig Sunday.”
Totten’s Grief Group
Every other week, residents meet in Totten’s apartment to talk about the experience of grief in college.
Totten and residents who suffer the loss of loved ones say they found a notable lack of resources on campus for students dealing with grief.
This shortfall inspired Totten to establish a grief group in Corrado.
“It’s a space where we can mourn and celebrate and do things that feel safe and comfortable with people who have shared experiences,” Totten said. “The group creates a sense of family, and a sense of safety within that.”
Totten has been in contact with the Health and Counseling Center in hopes of expanding the program past Corrado’s walls.
Students from other residence halls who would like to participate in Totten’s Greif Group can reach out to her via email at totten@up.edu.
Student Academic Resource Center Partner Event
Hall staff introduced a new tradition to host partner events that support students in accessing resources.
“If there are any groups on campus open to partnering, who have an interest in something we haven’t planned yet, we’d love to hear about it,” Totten said.
To kick off the series, Corrado collaborated with the Shepard Academic Resource Center on Sept. 17 to encourage academic success for first-year students.
Associate Director for Academic Support Andy Poundstone gave a presentation titled “Academic Success in Space and Time” to Corrado residents. The presentation incorporated tips for academic success into a light-hearted game of Family Feud.
Poundstone asked for feedback on first-year student struggles, and many students mentioned time management, passing classes and making friends.
After the game, he played a short Alan Watts clip about forgetting fun and passion in one’s life.
Corrado resident and first-year Nhu Kim Nguyen resonates with Watt’s sentiments and Poundstone’s advice.
“I felt a personal and academic connection with the other first-years who shared their own struggles at the beginning of college,” Nguyen said “I left this event feeling grateful to know that I am not alone in the problems I’m facing.”
Hall Olympics
Corrado’s biannual Hall Olympics is one of the Hall’s more iconic events. Residents who live in wing-A (and their friends) compete in a series of games against residents (and friends) from wing-B.
This year, the games consisted of volleyball, water balloon toss, soccer, finish-the-lyric, dodgeball, tug-of-war and a unique form of relay race — all taking place on the West Quad lawn.
Corrado kicked off the competition on Sunday, Sept. 21, with a game of volleyball under the sun.
Residents brought signs of support and their enthusiasm to cheer on teammates. Signs like “Yay, A-wing” and “‘B’ for Best Winners” were tossed around with every play.
First-year students Simon Thiebes and Gunnar Swenson say events like the Hall Olympics have aided their transition to college. These events provide an opportunity to chat with students who are going through the same things.
When I asked why they chose to participate in Corrado’s Hall Olympics, Thiebes, representing wing-B, said the Olympics were the “event of the day.”
Swenson, representing wing-A, said he wanted to bet Thiebes.
After seven passionate competitions, wing-B took the win following an intense hot dog eating contest.
Stay tuned for the verdict on Corrado’s spring semester Hall Olympics: Will wing-A make a comeback, or will wing-B hold their throne?
Pancake Night
Similar to Swig Sunday and After-Mass Social, Pancake Night provides a time for residents to take a break from their studies and grab some free food, while socializing with friends.
As per the popularity of restaurants like IHOP and Denny’s, any college student can attest that breakfast is best served at night.
When I attended on Tuesday, Sept. 23, Corrado residents eagerly waited for their share of the hall staff’s pancakes and syrup.
September’s Pancake Night, held two days after the Hall Olympics, was the perfect opportunity for residents to discuss their opinions of the event, as well as banter about their lives.
Pancake Night also saw some visitors from other halls. Corrado has a strong community cultivated not only by its residents but by their friends. Residents call these frequent visitors “commuters,” and they are always welcome to participate in events or hang out in the communal spaces, according to Vaught.
First-year Isabel Muñiz is a Mehling resident who has joined multiple Corrado events, like Pancake Night.
“The Corrado community is really welcoming,” Muñiz said. “Even though I don’t live here, I feel included, like if I’m in the lobby and they’re talking about an event, they always invite me because everyone here is very sweet.”
One month into the Corrado experience, I see the Hall is a fantastic place to check out if you’re looking for an inclusive community where you can meet new people.
The hall community most definitely lives up to its reputation.
So drop by a Corrado event or two because, as Corrado sophomore resident Cheyanne LaConte says, they’re lit, crazy, movie!
Clara Pehling is a news reporter for The Beacon. She can be reached at pehling28@up.edu
