Life in Olds Residence
Written by Emma McCormick
When I think of Olds, the first thing I think about is community. A lot contributes to an atmosphere that makes everyone feel welcomed and loved, and the girls, RAs, and house mom who live here all help create what many people who have lived here call the best dorm on campus.
Olds is a split level with space for eighty people and has two outer halls, with all of the rooms looking in on one of two courtyards. A donation from Metta Olds made the building of the dorm possible in 1961.
The community bathrooms and single outside door play a role in developing the community. As I walk in after a long day, I’m bound to see a few people in the kitchen chatting or cooking or on the couches studying. If it is evening, there will always be a friendly RA sitting desk who is happy to talk. In the mornings while everyone is getting ready for the day, there’s a chance to catch up on hallmates’ lives in the shared bathrooms. The residents in each of the four halls naturally grow close. We are always walking by one another’s rooms, sharing a kitchen and laundry room because we have to, and sharing clothes because we want to.
We do more than just live together though. We have classes together, we eat meals together, we study together, we play intramural sports together, we attempt to win spirit week together, and some pledge sororities together.
The beauty of the community that develops is that not everyone is alike. Most of us are very different from one another—quietly studious and extremely extroverted, athletic and sedentary, Catholic and Protestant—yet we get along and even become good friends. Some of my best memories of the dorm relate back to the people: making nachos at 1 a.m., crowding into the cozy back alcove to watch a movie, playing on the Olds IM basketball team, cooking in the kitchen while passersby exclaim how good it smells, and hugging our house mom, Mama G.
Olds is an unforgettable place. Everyone is a freshman once. Living in Olds is an experience many of us have in common, and one no one will forget.
Emma McCormick, ’19, is from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and plans on majoring in economics. She is a member of the mock trial team, the public relations officer of Praxis, and a part of Equip Ministry. When she isn’t studying or working at AJ’s, you might find her outside running.