Senior accounting and business administration major Kirk Kauder has been appointed as the new hall director for Ropp Hall.
Senior accounting and business administration major Kirk Kauder. Photo provided by Kirk Kauder
Kauder has been involved with Residence Life for three years, starting his sophomore year. He is also president of the Student Investment Club, secretary of Bluffton University Business Leaders Club and treasurer of Brave Space. He has also participated in playing Ultimate Frisbee the past few years.
“My sophomore year I was a resident advisor on the first floor of Bren-Dell for the full year,” said Kauder. “I then took a semester off and went to Washington, D.C., during my junior year for my cross-cultural experience.”
When Kauder returned from Washington, D.C. in the spring of 2019, he took over being an RA for Ropp Annex on the second floor. The following fall semester, he became an RA for the first floor of Neufeld Hall.
Kauder has observed his past hall directors and said that it has prepared him to step up to this new role and understand what to do and what not to do.
Kauder said his qualities of being responsible, organized and great with communication will be beneficial this semester as hall director.
“Communication is key to keep my residents updated on future meetings or events going on,” said Kauder. “Helping my residents as quickly as possible will allow me to be available for all of them considering I will have over 90 to assist throughout this semester.”
Some of the main responsibilities of a hall director are to have meetings with the resident advisors to keep them informed of anything important as well as checking in on their personal well being. Another responsibility includes maintaining the building and submitting work orders to help maintenance fix the issues as quickly as possible. Hall directors are also required to carry around an “on-call” phone when they are on duty in case of any major issues, there can always be someone there to respond.
“I have realized there are so many more responsibilities that come with being a hall director and the transition has been a bit challenging,” said Kauder. “The transition mid-year has been difficult because I don’t know a lot of my residents yet since I was on the other side of campus for the fall semester but I really enjoy what I am doing and am looking forward to the rest of the semester.”
Kauder has big plans and expectations for his last semester at Bluffton University and being part of Residence Life. He plans to create at least two all hall events that people will want to participate in so that it can continue to build community between the residents. He also plans to keep his residents updated on events with plenty of notice and to be as accessible and approachable as possible for Ropp residents and others around campus.
“Being a hall director is more of a management position and I have really enjoyed it so far,” said Kauder. “I think this will prepare me for future management opportunities, and it has and will continue to give me great experiences with interacting with people from all walks of life and all kinds of cultures.”
