My Freshman year, I lived in Parkside IRC. I lived in a 5 person, 4 room suite. Three of us had our own rooms and two others shared a larger room. There was a desk, bed, dresser, microwave/fridge combo, and closet in my room. I was particularly pleased with the high ceilings since lower ones make me feel sort of claustrophobic. We shared two large restrooms and there was never conflict about restroom use. We did not have much a common area (just a short hallway) but it wasn’t much of an issue.
It was great living in a suite because we each had the comfort of our own rooms but always left our doors open to socialize or share the sounds of our taste in music. It worked out great for me because I could shut my door to get some work done and then open it to have a laugh with my friends. I had always shared a bedroom up until college so having my own room was amazing. I didn’t need to worry about not having time to clean up during midterms and finals week, which was great. Since it was the International housing, I got to many people from overseas. I got to learn about several cultures and become more understanding of distinct points of view.
Hanging out in my dorm Freshman Year
A great thing about Parkside was that there was a gym in the building, as well as a larger study lounge. In this study lounge were individual study rooms with white boards. I don’t know how you may feel about this, but doing practice problems on white boards is super clutch.
I also really liked that the dining hall was literally a minute away. Any time I needed a nice meal, Parkside Dining Hall was there for me. Except from 10:30-11:00 am, since they would close to prepare for lunch.
It was a great experience living at Parkside IRC and getting to meet many great people, that I still call friends to this day.
Thanks for reading. Fight On!
