Winter_Magazine2015

they wanted and what needed to be repaired.

“At the top of their list was a Blu-ray disc

player,” Huang says. “But I-House is also get-

ting old, and the appliances are getting old.

So, we’re also trying to raise money for more

specific projects.”

Through the I-House Fund, the Huangs

have helped to create a new legacy of giving by

St. Lawrence’s international alumni.

“The relationship is real, the experience is real

and the feeling is real,” Huang said. “So we’re

asking ‘how can we materialize that?’”

As an international student, Nam says

he’s been comforted by the international

alumni network he’s helped to create. He

also takes comfort in knowing that St.

Lawrence has made diversity a priority,

referring to the Presidential Commission

on Diversity, constituted in January 2013.

“Even in the short time that I’ve been

here, I can see less negativity and more

openness,” he says. “I’m glad to be here

now, watching to see how the campus is

changing for the better.”

Though the future still lies open for St. Lawrence’s interna-

tional students, Nam says he hopes he can continue Huang’s

tradition of giving back to the University.

“As an international student, I know what it’s like to come to

the U.S., to leave your homeland behind, and to have the experi-

ences I’ve had,” he says. “I hope I can pass on what I’ve learned to

the next generation of international students at St. Lawrence.”

bout a year ago, Nam reached

out to Huang and told him

about his idea for an alumni

network. At nearly the same

time, Huang had been having conversations

with other international alumni about what

they could do to make the international stu-

dent experience at St. Lawrence better.

“(International) alumni have a great relation-

ship with St. Lawrence, but they didn’t grow up

in an American middle-class culture of giving

back,” Huang says. “This is a group of people

who really have never given. And, when in-

ternational graduates live abroad, maintain-

ing contact can be challenging.”

Social media are helping to narrow that

distance, and staying in contact with peo-

ple a world away isn’t much different from

keeping in touch with those a county or

state away. So when Stefka Antonova ’09

started a Facebook group last year and in-

vited several recent international graduates

to join, Huang thought this might be a per-

fect opportunity for international alumni to start giving back.

The Facebook group soon established an I-House Fund, and

the Huangs made the first gift. He explained on the Facebook

group site wall what I-House had meant to him as a student

and why it warranted his support.

At first, only a few small gifts came in. So, the group changed

tactics and came up with a list of direct needs for international stu-

dents and for I-House. The students made their own list of what

A major supporter of the new residence

hall has been Trustee

Mike Arpey ’85,

P’17

. We asked him to reflect on his

residential life at St. Lawrence and why

he made a gift toward the new building.

How did your own residential experience compare with

that of St. Lawrence students today?

Mike Arpey:

My experience was a series of communities:

in Sykes, the commonality of the freshman “we’re all in this

together” mode; in Phi Kappa Sigma, an assembly of shared

values and interests; and then for two years in Whitman as a

resident assistant, creating communities and fostering bonds.

I see communities forming in St. Lawrence’s residential units

today, 30 years later. It’s part of our historic character.

SL: How did your residential experience shape who

you became, and how do you think it shapes today’s

students?

Mike:

In Sykes, I learned to be independent. In my fraternity,

I learned how to connect with people and how to get along

in an intimate group. As an RA, I learned management,

communication and the sharing of a common goal. Those

all proved to be valuable attributes when I entered the work

world, and I see those attributes being instilled in

St. Lawrence students today.

I believe as much learning happens in the residences as in

classes, but it’s very different. In classes, IQ, or intellectual

learning, is stressed, but in the residences, EQ, or emotional

learning—the social and leadership skills so critical for suc-

cess in the workplace—is fostered.

Students have more choices of residential settings now than

when I was a student, with the First-Year Program, the theme

houses and more. I see that expansion continuing in the new

residence, with room clusters, common areas for studying

and socializing, the café, and so on. These all promote the

intersection of the IQ and the EQ.

SL: Why did you support the new residence hall?

Mike:

I want students to have as many opportunities as we

can give them. I’m eternally grateful for all that St. Lawrence

gave me. When President Fox identified this new residential

unit as a priority, I realized that was how I could express

my gratitude. I believe residential life is the foundation for

success because our spaces shape our behavior. This new

building jibes with my experience and the one I want future

generations of students to benefit from as I did.

At its dedication,

Taylor Castator ’15

said

that the new residence hall felt like home to

her. We wanted to know why, so we asked the

senior class president from Hudson, Quebec,

about the residential community on campus.

What design resources are available in the residence

halls, and how do you use them?

Taylor Castator:

The best parts about the residence halls

are the common spaces. Students interact in the new hall’s

lounges and kitchen spaces. I have been studying in the

lounges more often or just hanging out with friends there.

How do your past residential experiences compare

to your experience in the new building?

Taylor:

My first-year college was Reiff, and I really enjoyed

the community feeling. I’ve also lived in Dean-Eaton, which

has so much character. It was nice to live in an older resi-

dence hall because I felt I could be part of its history. And of

course, (Kirk Douglas Hall) has been phenomenal. I love that

I can look out of my window and see the chapel and people

enjoying the quad, whether they are studying or playing

Frisbee. Every place has its perks and quirks, and I’ve had

great experiences everywhere.

How does the residential experience at St. Lawrence

foster community?

Taylor:

It starts off strong with the First-Year Program,

which really connects you with the people that you are living

with. I met my current roommate in my FYP, which shows

how well during your first year you get to know your fellow

residents, and that feeling continues throughout your college

experience. Because we are mostly living on campus, everyone

intertwines with one another.

How does that contribute to your overall St. Lawrence

experience?

Taylor:

The residential component of St. Lawrence is so

central to our identity that if we weren’t a residential campus,

we wouldn’t be the school that we know. The community

we share certainly was one of the things that attracted me to

St. Lawrence, and an integral part of our experience is that

we all do live together. There’s a lot of learning that goes on

beyond the classroom. We tend to learn a lot from the people

we live with because, a lot of times, they are a classmate or

someone you’re in a club with. I love that our residential

community fosters that environment.

Then

Now

The buildings may change, but the core experience does not.

—Maureen Pellerin ’15

—NSB

“I’M GLAD

TO BE HERE,

WATCHING

THE CAMPUS

CHANGE FOR

THE BETTER.”

On October 16, 2014, while the Board of Trustees was on campus, Laurentians

celebrated the opening of the new residence hall (recently named Kirk Douglas Hall).

President Fox, reading from the plaque, said “Loyalty and Generosity have joined

hands with Builders and Dreamers to create a house of learning.” Standing beside the

plaque is Board of Trustees chair Jeff Boyd ’78.

University Trustee André Couture ’82 (center),

his son Victor ’15 and his sister, Julie ’85, stand

in the recently named Couture Commons, the

glassed-in passageway between the two wings

where the dedication took place. They, along

with Martin Couture ’90, were among the first

to support the project. Other named spaces are

the Arpey Study, the Phelps Family Study and

the Saddlemire Study.

Rooms in the new residence hall are spacious,

with accommodation for all the accessories of

modern college life. Compare this with a

campus room of many years ago, on page 69.

' l e t g r at i t u d e a n d f r i e n d s h i p a b i d e h e r e '

Pipe and Nam

To connect to St. Lawrence international alumni, visit

stlawu.edu/international-student-services/alumni