Residence Lingo – What is a Don and rezPAL?

On move-in day, you and your student will meet our Residence Life Staff. They will be the enthusiastic helpers carrying boxes and luggage and will be identified by their big smiles and team t-shirt. This article will help you understand their roles and how they can help your student throughout the year.

Dons

Dons are upper year students who live in residence and organize events or activities to get everyone involved. There are 42 enthusiastic Dons on the Residence Life Team that are excited to help your student feel comfortable in their new home. Dons support students with wide range of social and life programming like movie nights, laundry 101, Iron Chef competitions or theme bowling nights. Dons are also responsible for general student safety. They are trained in emergency response and can be reached late at night via the Don on duty phone. In addition to this, Dons hold community meetings to keep everyone informed, as well as housechecks to ensure living facilities are clean and maintained.

The Dons are here to help students with anything and everything. Whether that means teaching them how to do laundry, being a supportive friend, or celebrating successes. The Residence Don’s are one of the first people that students meet upon arrival and will make the residence experience welcoming from the very start.

rezPALs

rezPAL stands for Residence Peer Academic Leader. The PALs are a group of 15 selected upper year students who maintain a minimum 3.0 CGPA and live in first year residence communities. The PALs are dedicated to supporting the academic transition of first year students and acting as positive academic role models. On a weekly basis, they host seminars on topics from academic integrity, to learning skills, to health & wellness, to diversity & equity. If your student completes 10 of the 12 seminars throughout the first semester, they will receive and annotation on their official transcript stating that they have completed the rezONE First Year Experience Program. Research on rezONE indicates that students who complete the program achieve a significantly higher GPA and complete more courses after four years of study.

Facilitated Study Sessions (FSS) are informal review sessions designed and hosted by PALs that target first year courses. These sessions are designed to encourage group learning as students discuss readings, share lecture notes and predict test questions. Trained to facilitate study strategies, the PALs focus on test/exam preparation to provide support in a non-remedial manner.

During the second semester student can take part in a Capstone Project. Designed and implemented by students with the support of PALs, Capstone Projects built connections with faculty outside of the classroom in an informal and interactive setting. Some examples of Capstone Projects include hosting a book discussion, curating an art exhibit or executing a local community service project.