Residence Hall desk manager an overlooked job
The first week of college can be explained as nothing less than chaotic.
With incoming freshmen getting acquainted with campus, upperclassmen moving back in, MAINstage events, meeting up with old and new friends, and organizing residence hall rooms, the job sitting at a desk directing all of it can be a long, tiring one.
However, it is the job of the many Central Michigan University students to try and put things back together.
Laura Heck, Celani/Saxe/Herrig hall desk manager, said it is a tough job being a “deskie,” but someone has to do it.
“(We) organize some of the chaos around us,” she said.
In addition to all of its normal duties, the desk staff is responsible for checking every student in to the building as they arrive to begin the fall semester. This includes making the students feel welcome, as well as handing out keys, room inventories, alcohol policies and planners.
Throughout the weekend, the desk managers also have an almost constant stream of students at the desk asking questions about parking, computers, directions to different buildings and the hours of the dining halls.
There were periods in which there were at least ten people around the desk needing assistance. And then the phone started ringing.
Au Gres junior Clark Larson, a second-year manager at Celani/Saxe/Herrig, has been through Welcome Weekend at the desk before.
He said Welcome Weekend was pretty hectic, but he could handle it for one weekend.
“I’ll take that one or two bad days of work for a good year,” he said.
Larson said despite the stress of Welcome Weekend, he is glad to have more people in the halls again. The fact he gets to meet a lot of people is the best part of his desk manager position, Larson said.
However, Leyrer said since this desk staff is responsible for three buildings, it is a little more difficult to get to know all of the residents.
“We’re required to be social and say hi to everyone,” Leyrer said.
Customer service is the main responsibility of the desk staff, Heck said.
“We try to help every single person that comes through our lobby,” she said.
