Floors offer residents chance to connect with other students who have similar interests

Interesting themed floors · Women in Science, Gila Hall · The O'odham Ki wing, Graham-Greenlee Hall · Fine arts floor, Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall · Aspiring professionals in medicine and health care floor, Graham-Greenlee (not yet opened)

There's no place like home, but for many UA students, a Residence Life program that places students with similar interests on themed floors has helped make UA their home away from home.

Next semester, Residence Life will add two themed floors to the seven that already exist in five of UA's residence halls.

One of the two floors will be dedicated to building a wellness community that will be open to students interested in achieving a physically, emotionally and academically well-balanced lifestyle.

The floor will have exercise classes, including on-site yoga and aerobics, and will be located inside the new Villa del Puente Residence Hall on East Sixth Street and North Highland Avenue.

The location, directly across from the Student Recreation Center, was not a coincidence, said Pamela Obando, associate director of marketing for Residence Life.

"We pair floors with a program or a facility. The wellness floor is right across the street, so that will be really convenient," said Obando.

The other new floor will be designed to help transfer students ÷ who are often concerned about making new friends and cautious about living with freshmen ÷ adjust to life at UA.

"A lot of transfer students have trouble getting in on time or they are new to the university and want to live on campus but don't like the idea of living with a lot of freshmen," said Obando.

Themed floors began at UA ten years ago, when Hopi Lodge Residence Hall was designated as a substance-free hall. The floor was created with the hope of building a sense of community among incoming students, said Greg Ziebell, assistant director of Residence Life.

"We had been aware of themed floors at other schools and wanted to try to build learning communities among people sharing interests," Ziebell said.

(we) wanted to try to build learning communities among people sharing interests. - Greg Ziebell, assistant director, Residence Life

The floors honor diversity at UA.

The second oldest themed floor, the Women in Science, Engineering and Math or Technology (WISE) floor, is located in Gila Hall, where 24 rooms are dedicated to women interested in fields of science.

Students on the WISE floor have access to mentoring and academic assistance, and Ziebell said that these added programs and support can promote success.

This year, 81 percent of 2001 WISE floor residents returned to UA for the fall 2002 semester, a significant return rate for the university, said Obando.

Residence Life said that the general reaction to the themed floors has been positive, and some former theme floor residents agree that a shared bond lends itself well to the college environment.

Pre-education senior Sarah Keel spent two years in the WISE themed floor and continues to take part in theme-floor related activities.

"I made some good friends on the floor. There are people taking similar classes, so that helped."

Keel added that staying on a floor with people that share an academic focus helps avoid the sometimes loud and distracting atmosphere.

"You had people who cared about academics, so you didn't have to worry about people running around and being crazy at two in the morning," she said.

Other floors, like the O'odham Ki Wing located in Graham-Greenlee Hall, offer students with a shared cultural background to form residential communities.

"We have worked a lot with the Native American studies program to build programs to help Native American students in their transition to the university," Ziebell said.

The O'odham Ki Wing is open to Native American students and offers various cultural programs.

Graham-Greenlee will also acquire the Aspiring Professionals In Medicine and Health Care floor, which is open to all medical and students of health-related fields, in the fall.

The floor is currently in Coronado Residence Hall, but will move because of concerns about students' motives behind living on the floor.

"I think some students were moving to the floor more to get into Coronado than anything else," Obando said.

A fine arts floor opened this year in Manzanita-Mohave Residence Hall, and Residence Life officials said that its warm reception among students helped convince them to add the new themed floors next fall.

Students wishing to live on a themed floor must first submit their housing application and fill out the necessary forms included in the Residence Life acceptance package.

Participants are notified on a first-come, first-serve basis and are notified with their housing assignments beginning in May.