Roommates

Here at Gatton, a good roommate will make your experience infinitely better. Even before any students are in the building, the staff is already hard at work pairing off successful roommates and creating future best friends. At Orientation day, all incoming juniors take a personality quiz of sorts—one that asks what music you like and how you listen to it, or what your hobbies and interests are. Our assistant director of student life, Beth Hawke, has spent years perfecting this questionnaire and has discovered the two crucial components to roommate success: sleep schedules and cleanliness. No roommates will ever get along if one goes to sleep at nine every night and the other at three, nor will a slob get along with someone who likes their room spotless. Through this survey and the expertise of over 10 years of roommates, roughly 90% of roommate pairings are successful.

In my case, however, I ended up with not just a roommate, but also a best friend and an example of all the best things you could find. My roommate, fellow Avatar Drew Aubry, is the best friend I possibly could have gained from this random selection process. From day one, I could tell that we were going to get along swimmingly, with a lot of the same interests, hobbies, and warped senses of humor. Late nights staying up talking about life in general or just watching old vines on YouTube are standards of our time in the room together. And outside as well, our treasure trove of in-jokes keeps us both happy and the envy of any other roommate pairing. We are both late-to-bed, early-to-rise, and both like our room just the right level of messy to keep things interesting.

Roommates are invaluable to success at Gatton, providing a constant source of friendship and relief especially in stressful times. Not only are roommates great at helping you goof off, but they also are always willing to help when you need it, whether it be with school or personal matters. And after a long day of work, good or bad, your roommate will be there at the end of the day to finish it out strong. When it comes down to it, a roommate can be one more factor pushing you towards a great year, so be honest talking about yourself, and let Beth take over and do her magic. You might just end up with a friend along the way!

Wyatt