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Last school year Karrs spent her senior year living on the ninth floor of Thurston, a place she never thought she'd ever see. Instead of writing students for liquor violations, she was forging relationships, giving advice and helping freshmen get adjusted to life in Foggy Bottom.
Being a house proctor made Karrs feel useful, even though she said she was terrified to take the position. Her biggest fear was that something awful would happen and that she would miss it because she was not sure what she should doing. But despite her early concerns, Karrs was able to create a special bond with her residents and even cooked them a six course Thanksgiving dinner.
"It ended up being a really great college experience," Karrs said. "It also taught me not to judge someone for living in Thurston."
House proctors reside in first-year residence halls. They are responsible to help residents, "develop an environment?which encourages personal responsibility, reflection, academic growth and self-exploration," according to the program's Web site.
Residence halls for sophomores, juniors and seniors have similar students in similar positions, but each role differs depending on the needs of the class.
Before the program was implemented, community facilitators patrolled residence halls. They were mostly known for their responsibilities to document student violations and to administer the roommate agreement forms. The house proctor program, which was new to the 2006 school year, does not allow the student to document violations.
Senior Brooke DeLancey was not sure what her responsibilities would be when she began her job as a proctor last year in Fulbright.
"There was kind of just this basic outline and there were all these holes to fill in. It was kind of like a skeleton we had to bring to life," DeLancy said.
