January 14, 2009
Top Adviser -- University of Wyoming Residence Hall Adviser Becky Adair discusses
plans for an upcoming event with RHA President Branden Hayes, a sophomore in architectural
engineering from Pueblo, Colo. Adair was named Adviser of the Year at the recent Intermountain
Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls regional conference. (Nicole Lebsack
Photo)
The University of Wyoming Residence Hall Association (RHA) was awarded Building of
the Year, Adviser of the Year and Program of the Year at the recent Intermountain
Affiliate of College and University Residence Halls (IACURH) regional conference.
The region includes universities in Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico,
Arizona and Alberta, Canada. The IACURH regional Board of Directors voted on the winners,
and UW was selected for all three honors for which it applied, says RHA Adviser Becky
Adair.
"We not only tell other colleges about our programs, but we also learn more about
other schools' programs," Adair says. "We come back with great ideas to use here.
That is what RHA is all about: improving the experience for residents."
The IACURH Building of the Year Award recognizes the residence hall association that
has improved the most since the previous year's conference. UW submitted a 20-page
bid covering areas such as campus involvement, student leadership and conference attendance.
"In all my time as the RHA adviser, we never won a bid. Needless to say, I was thoroughly
impressed," says Brandon Kosine, honorary co-adviser for the RHA delegation and former
UW RHA adviser.
Adair's demonstrated excellence as an adviser to RHA earned her the IACURH Adviser
of the Year Award. To be considered for this award, UW submitted an eight-page bid
detailing why Adair deserved the recognition.
"We wrote and included a variety of testimonials and fun quotes about Becky," says
Stephanie Los, national communications coordinator for UW's RHA program. "We had a
hard time just keeping it to just eight pages! There is so much she does for us that
we all wanted to express."
UW's program "Pokin' Around Town," a 24-hour photo clue hunt, was named the IACURH
Program of the Year. In addition to a written packet, RHA gave a 20-minute presentation
on why the program is beneficial to residents and how it could be applied at other
colleges. "Pokin' Around Town" was initially held during the fall 2007 semester, and
more than 60 students participated in this year's event.
Additionally, advisers and delegates from the various colleges also awarded UW two
of the "Top 10" programs of the year for "Pokin' Around Town" and "A Few Tornadoes
& a Million Inside Jokes," a program describing how to host an effective executive
board retreat.
"The UW programs were well-organized, and it was obvious the students had put in a
great deal of work ahead of time," says Kosine. "They made decisions together, supported
each other and truly saw the success from an organizational level, not of individuals
in the organization. It was so fun for me to see leadership at its finest."
Wyoming was represented by two advisers, Adair and Kosine, and 16 delegates: Los,
Jacob Carpenter, Jordan Crotsenberg, Jorden Escamilla, Amanda Harris, Drew Hauser,
Branden Hayes, Aaron Herrera, Dan Hsieh, Daniel Kennedy, Chris Martin, Jessica Murray,
Pam Nunez, Corey Peacock, Derek Walters and Rocio Zubia-Molina.
"We are very proud to say that Wyoming has a great regional voice. We are all looking
forward to the next bidding opportunity at the upcoming No Frills conference this
February in Colorado Springs," says Los.
Wyoming will compete at the national conference in May for both Chapter of the Year
and Adviser of the Year.
Posted on Wednesday, January 14, 2009
