Which is the Best Dorm?

There is this big question of who has the best dorm hall on Greenville University Campus. Greenville University has nine lower-division campus residence halls. Upper division housing has ten buildings.  Who can be the judge of who has the best dorm hall? Different residence chaplains are helpful members that control and help students on campus with necessary needs.

Residence Chaplain Dana Smith of Mannoia Hall, located on East College Avenue, supports and helps her students when needed. “I genuinely care for my girls and any student on this campus. I make sure that they are spiritually fed; I get any toiletries that they need. I help them with guidance for friendships, relationships, and just life situations.” Dana Smith has been a helpful student for Mannoia residence and she is very appreciative of how Mannoia Hall is set up. “This is my first year being a residence chaplain. The best part about Mannoia is the space. I can use the bathroom in my pod rather than leaving it [to use a community-style]. I also love the main lobby space. The students living there can study, hangout, and don’t have to leave the building to do it. And it has its own laundry facilities.” Dana even feels that upper division has the best halls here on Greenville University campus. “I think upper division housing is the best because it contains more space and better features. I like other halls, but I feel upper division is superior to the rest.”

Tenney Hall, located on Durley St. and  McAdams St., is a place where Residence Chaplain Matt Herrick continues to enjoy his stay during the school year. Matt’s enthusiasm is off the charts when speaking positively about his passion for a resident chaplain. “This is my second year being an RC for GU, while it also being the first year of being an RC for 2nd Tenney (I was previously Holtwick Hall – shout out to Holtwick!) What I love about Tenney Hall can be summed up primarily but not entirely with these attributes: the chill atmosphere; Tenney is a place where Super Smash Bros tournaments go down; Spicy Uno comes in and people have the best and most unfortunate of times; FIFA is played and when a goal is scored, everyone knows. All the while there is a constant of peace and respect for one another.”

Matt continues to enjoy his experience at Tenney Hall because of the people. “Another thing I like about being an RC is the people. There are students who play sports, who are interested in music, in electronic sports, involved in GSGA, and many others that enjoy being an awesome college student trying to stay afloat in classes.” When asked about his opinion on what dorm is the best, Matt believes Tenney is definitely the right choice. “I’ll try and not be boastful, but Tenney really is the best. It’s not as far away from campus as people make it and the distance compared to all the rest gives just the right amount of time to be in solitude while presenting the opportunity for the community. It’s the perfect distance. We have the monthly Milkshake of the Month that is open to all students but is only brought on by TK (Tenney-Kinney Hall. And the last thing is the kitchen: full stove, refrigerator, freezer, and spacious cabinets. Perfect for any chef wanna-be’s or already-made culinary artist.”

Matt finds ways to help students as much as possible, and he takes time to get to connected with students in better ways. “Really it comes down to relationship. Everybody is as open as the questioners’ interest, which is perfect for starting a conversation and building friendships. I help my students out by providing a calendar with all home-game sports and times right outside the RC door, updates via the whiteboard with upcoming events and being there for the students in whatever way they need me to be, whether a Bible study, playing games, talking about soccer, dealing with confrontation, and all things relational. Tenney really is worth the walk and I hope more people come and see this is a safe place for all people to have a great college experience and awesome opportunities for life-long friendships.”

Hood Hall is another residence hall that is occupied by Donovan Graydon on the second floor. Donovan Graydon has been a residence chaplain for his first few months but enjoys his position so far. “I have been a RC for only a few months now and love every second of it. I’m an RC for second floor Hood and what I love about Hood Hall is the staff that I work with and the people in it.”  Donovan is a hard working residence chaplain who has believed that Hood Hall is the best dorm. “I honestly think Hood Hall is the best hall. This is because of the many different people who live there. From athletics, musicians, and many others. Also, the co-ed atmosphere is very helpful and I think it helps give students a real-world concept of being a decent human being and living with others.” Donovan not only enjoys his stay at Hood Hall, but he also enjoys helping students he lives with in any way he can. “Things I do to help students in Hood are just having  conversations with them. From sitting down and watching TV with them, playing videos games, and the many great ideas we have for students to be involved in hood, just being there for your residences is all you need to do. Showing them support and getting to know them.”

Many resident chaplains on Greenville’s campus are helpful to their dorm halls and helpful to students. So, who has the best living quarters? It is not easy to decide when you have so many great places to live on the wonderful campus of Greenville University.

Media by Russell Lamb.