Two new residents will be roaming the halls of Streeter residence hall this summer, but they are not Dartmouth students. They are the College's new Area Directors, Chris Chambers and Chris Foley.
Chambers is the Area Director for the dorms on the west side of the campus while Foley is responsible for the dorms on the east side.
"Basically, it's a matter of dorms west or east of the Green," Chambers said.
Chambers, a native of New York City, recently received his master's degree in the area of "College Student Personnel" from the University of Maryland at College Park
Chambers received his bachelor's degree at Drew University in New Jersey and worked as a resident assistant his senior year andafter graduation as a resident director.
According to Chambers, working as a director gave him the opportunity to create positive change on campus and make the institution more responsive to the needs of the students.
"We created for our staff things they have never done before.I witnessed students dealing with tough issues and finding out something about themselves after the experience," Chambers said.
Foley finished his bachelors degree as a premed at the University of Virginia where he worked as a Resident Advisor and an Area Coordinator. He obtained his master's degree from the University of Vermont where he worked as a hall advisor.
Some of the programs they are planning for the residential halls include inviting professors and students to give talks and using the movie "Kids" to discuss some contemporary social and cultural values, Foley said.
The Area Directors supervise the staff members which include the Undergraduate Advisors, the Area Coordinators, Graduate Advisors, and the programming assistants. They are also responsible for selecting, hiring and training them, Foley said.
"I like working with the students and finding out what they would like to see changed," Foley said.
Both of the area directors are optimistic about their new jobs.
"Dartmouth provides many opportunities for getting involved with the students," Chambers said. "I would like to help students create their own opportunities to improve their campus."
"From what I have seen, the students are very dedicated to their academics and show a willingness to be challenged," Foley said.
In his spare time, Foley likes to tinker with hi-fi stereos, play the guitar and occasionally play a game of basketball. Chambers looks forward to brushing up on his ultimate frisbee and culinary skills.
Both Foley and Chambers are unsure about how long they will stay here.
"I will probably stay here for a minimum of three years," Foley said.
But both agree they will probably resume their studies and pursue a doctorate degree in the future.
"I will probably work as an administrator or a teacher after that. You never know what will happen five years from now," Foley said.
"If somebody had told me five years ago that I was going to work here, I would have thought it a good joke," he said.
