Photo by: Residence Life
Remember those people that always make you walk over to the desk and check-in after a long night out? Well those people, Desk Assistants, are at that desk for more reasons than to make you walk a few extra steps.
The Halls Front Desk is open 24 hours a day to allow easy access to the Centennial Halls building. The Desk Assistants (DAs) are there to find phone numbers, buzz you in when you forget your ID, grab your printouts and give you trash bags. They are also responsible for checking out movies, games, vacuums and those oh-so-wonderful lockout keys. Some DAs even sort your mail and call you if you have important packages waiting.
So what makes this desk so great? “Jim! He’s funny, honest, sincere, genuine and cool,” states Kim Weisser, sophomore and DA at the desk. Jim Gray is the Desk Manager for Centennial Halls. Gray’s duties as a desk manager are endless. He is responsible for monitoring all keys, making sure mail gets done every day, hiring and training DAs, making sure the desk is covered 24 hours a day, changing locks as well as many other duties.
“It’s more than just the desk, it’s making sure the residents that live here have a safe place to live with a variety of amenities,” said Gray. “The most important thing is having a team of DAs who like their job and work hard.”
Many students agree that the staff is friendly and helpful.
“I’ve really tried hard to be selective on who I hire. The Department of Residence is pushing for a more professional feeling at the desk,” Gray said. “I think I’ve been fairly successful because I get many compliments compared to Desk Managers in the past.”
Gray said everyone at the desk has to work closely and trust one another to help with desk shift coverage and any other duties that arise. Gray added that the desk is also the place to gain good friendships. While working at the desk, “you meet people, interesting people,” said Julian Thomas, sophomore and DA. It is also a “good way to get to meet the building staff,” added Thomas, because all Resident Assistants are responsible for working four hours at the desk.
“In order to build a better team at the desk, I do programs, like RAs do, but just for DAs. I try to make the desk not just a place to work, but a community to live in,” Gray said.
To reward the hard-working DAs, Gray gives “Blue Booby” awards to the outstanding DAs of the quarter. Last quarter there were four winners, Breanne Mode, Kim Weisser, Jen Artmann and Tim Fischer.
Breanne Mode, freshman, “has made a big impact and goes the extra mile to help people out,” said Gray. Kim Weisser, sophomore, “is always willing to come over to the desk and help as well as does a lot to help make the desk more of a community,” said Gray. Tim Fischer, junior and mail coordinator, “is always willing to pick up my slack and gets stuff done when I can’t.”
Gray sees room for improvement. “Desk manager is too big of a job for an undergraduate. Duties need to be more divided, even though the compensation is pretty good. I would make sure that our database had ID pictures on it as well to help with ID checks. The other thing I would change is I wouldn’t make RAs work mandatory hours at the desk,” said Gray.
“It’s a job, but it doesn’t really feel like a job. At the desk, you’re like ‘yeah, I’m going to the desk now’ instead of ‘oh, I have to go to work now,'” said Thomas.
