Office Closure

Our office will be closed for the winter break: Dec 21-Jan 6. If you have any inquires  send us a email (housing@ryerson.ca) or leave us a voice-mail message (416-979-5284) and we will get back to you on January 7th, 2013!

Also don't forget although residence reopens on Jan 6th at NOON for our residents, food services does not reopen until Jan 7th- so plan ahead for meals on January 6th!

Have a great and safe holiday!

Student Housing Services

#RUgrowyourMO

Movember is a month-long initiative that strives to raise awareness about men’s health issues.  Now several years running, it is common to see men grow moustaches during the month of November as a visible sign of their support for the cause, some fundraising to benefit research and programs regarding prostate cancer, “male cancers below the waist” and men’s mental health. 

At Ryerson Residence, three of the living learning communities (Healthy Living, Leadership, and Community Services) coordinated programs and fundraising efforts for the month to support Movember.  “Grow Your MO” T-shirts and blue ribbons were sold weekly in the Pitman lobby, and residents were encouraged to “Donate 4 Dora” (a moustached Dora the Explorer piñata).  Residents and student staff also decorated the RAC with moustaches with facts about prostate cancer and men’s health.

On Thurs. Nov 29, a Movember gala was hosted in PIT-200 to celebrate the end of Movember and recognize top fundraisers.  A slideshow of photos was shown of residents with their moustaches (real or on a stick J) as well as a promo video starring Pitman RAs Alex Cordner and Brandon Bortoluzzi.  In total, Ryerson residents raised over $2200 for Movember, with notable efforts by ILLC-3 and ILLC RA Zach Bruman.  Aaron Hanek was recognized as “Man of Movember” for being the top individual resident fundraiser, and Heather Sadkowski (Community Leader – Activities) was recognized as “Miss Movember” for her enthusiastic assistance with coordinating the T-shirt orders, the Movember gala and much more!

I’d like to thank everyone who supported Movember initiatives this year!  In particular, a huge thanks to LLC staff Alishia Liolli, Alex Bowmer, Daniel Gosson, and Heather for their tremendous efforts in coordinating this project for the residence community.

Dan Cantiller, Academic Link Facilitator

TEDxRyersonU

On Sun. Nov 25^th, the TEDxRU conference was held in the new Mattamy Athletic Centre.  In many ways, this was one pretty cool event – a full day of esteemed speakers from various fields speaking to about 500 attendees (students, staff, faculty, and community members)…all on top the ice of the hockey rink.  Definitely an experience.  I once had a teacher from high school who would open a window in the middle of a Toronto winter day because he said it would keep us alert.  If that’s the case, then there definitely wasn’t any need for caffeine at this conference!

The theme of the conference was “ACT: Be the action that provokes a reaction…”  Among the fourteen-some speakers, the most memorable for me were:

1)      Nam Kiwanuka, former Much Music VJ and Malaria Bites Campaign ambassador, who talked about her life growing up in a refugee camp in Kenya and immigrating to Canada.

2)       Mitchell Kosny and Arne Kislenko (professors of urban & regional planning and history, respectively), for their candid talks about leadership and change management

3)      President Levy and Teriano Lesancha (first person in her Massai village to complete a post-secondary education degree), on travelling to Teriano’s village to officiate a special convocation ceremony and the positive impact of her story in raising support for education in her community.  

All in all, the day was valuable and unique learning experience.  Participants hopefully left with much food for thought and inspiration to act on their passions and influence change.  I was happy to share the experience with colleagues and some of our student staff, and was happy to see that some of our residents were also in attendance.  Looking forward to next year’s conference!

Dan Cantiller, Academic Link Facilitator

Giving for the Holidays

In partnership with AURA (a refugee and settlement agency), the Living Learning Community – Leadership had the opportunity to sponsor two newcomer families just in time for the holiday season. These families recently came from difficult times, one being a family who arrived in Canada this year, forced to flee their home in Afghanistan. The other was an Iraqi family that was targeted for their religious practice and forced to leave their country.

Ryerson residents worked together this month to raise $250.00 in a short amount of time to support the cause. We were asked to donate food and seasonal items that we believe represent Christmas in Canada. Along with these items, we also included toys and clothing to help the families celebrate their first holiday season in Canada. We would like to say Thank You to everyone who participated. We appreciate your generosity and willingness to help make a difference in other people’s lives this holiday season.

Alishia Liolli

LLC-Leadership RA

Pitman Hall Cafeteria Opening on Jan 7th

Hello,

Just a reminder to our residents that the Pitman Hall Cafeteria will re-open for the new year on Monday January 7th! If you are planning to return to residence on Sunday January 6th- be sure to plan ahead regarding meals for the day as the cafeteria will not be open yet!

Good luck on exams!

Student Housing Services

RezHero of the Week!: James Scantlebury

10 Things James wants you to know about him!

1) I'm from London, England, and yes, I have an English accent.

.

2) I love tea. Especially Earl Grey. Milk, no sugar thanks.

3) I sang in the Southwark Cathedral Choir and appeared live on the BBC.

4) I had an Apple Mac *way* before most people (I had an iBook in 2004...)

5) I can't catch a ball / anything. I have terrible hand-eye coordination.

6) I have rowed solo on the tidal Thames.

7) I can pretty much recite the London Underground system

8) I'm a little too knowledgeable about Formula 1 - I could easily name the current drivers, teams and the previous 62 world champions...

9) Give me a map and I'll show you the way to go.

10) #pit8 is one big happy family. We all love each other - perfect when you are 3000km from home!

Congratulations James, you're awesome!

RezHero of the Week! Jacob Sheffield

10 Things you don’t know about this week’s RezHero, Jacob Sheffield:


1. He enjoys singing
2. He plays guitar, piano, and trumpet
3. He’s Passionate about my program (Nursing)
4. He’s from Nova Scotia
5. He Loves Modern Family and How I Met Your Mother
6. He pronounces “couch” weird
7. He loves microwave taquitos
8. He’s diabetic
9. He wears a black fluffy robe
10. He loves Birkenstocks with socks


Congratulations Jacob! You’re Awesome!

RezHero and Student Staff Appreciation Reception!

On November 15th, 2012, Student Housing Services held an appreciation reception for Residence Heroes and Student staff at the Mattamy Athletic Centre! It was a great success and gave us all an opportunity to formally recognize the incredible community we have here in residence.

ResLife Staff 2012-2013

Rezheros Fall 2012

A message from the Graduate Advisor -Leadership:

"The residence hero program is a program that recognizes students for their day-to-day contributions to the residence community. Students and staff are encouraged to nominate their students and peers for big acts of kindness and the little things that often go unnoticed. Whether it is helping a friend study, helping to plan an event, consoling a friend when their upset or just being an active member of our community – RezHeros are helping to build the residence community. Even though they may think what they do is unimportant – I’m here to tell them that it is. Holding the title of a Ryerson residence hero means that at some point in time they have contributed something positive to someone else’s residence experience. Even if it was just one person, that person will always remember them as someone who added a positive memory to their life. This year the program has been very successful, with over 90 nominations, and that number is reflective of how strong our community really is. Kindness and appreciation is contagious – and in Ryerson Rez, it’s spreading like wildfire! As is said in the RezHero congratulatory letters, residence isn’t just about a place to sleep and eat. It’s about building a community, creating memories and the beginning of life long friendships. 

I want to sincerely thank you all for your continued positivity and invaluable contributions to our community. Thank you for being residence heroes – we salute you!"

Congratulations everyone!

RezHero of the Week!

When one asks Christina Laffey how she manages to stay so cheery all the time, she says she remembers just always being this way; “maybe it’s my last name,” she says, laughing aloud to illustrate her point. This 18-year-old from Whitby enjoys living in the heart of downtown and spending quality time with her friends, whether walking around aimlessly with them or soaking in the nightlife at Yonge and Dundas square. “I just like doing things together,” says Christina, expressing her love of group outings and hanging out; “I’ve played sports forever,” she says, and that seems to explain why she’s so good at fostering team spirit on Pitman 7. Christina has been the spearhead behind at least two community service projects on her floor, including one that collects pennies until the monetary value reaches $25 and then pays for a lifetime’s worth of water for a selected individual in Africa, and this seems telling of her career choice in coming to Ryerson for the Social Work program. It’s “very flattering” for Christina to be RezHero for the week, for sure, but more importantly Christina just seems to be at Ryerson itself – when talking to her about her school life or her floor, the happiness in her words makes it obvious that she is exactly where she wants to be.

Written by: Vibhu Gairola

Residence Blog post by Mithila Majithia (AL - Image Arts)

Around this time of year, Image Arts students are usually scrambling to write their Art History essays which are worth a hefty percentage of their grade. One of my clearest memories from my first year in residence was the trip to the AGO that my AL [Alexandre Brandt] ran last year to help his students choose paintings to write about. As I settled into my role as an AL this year, one of the programs that I was most eager to run was the art gallery trip.

Since I organized the trip later than Alex had last year, I was unsure of how many students would attend and was pleasantly surprised by the 23 students that were crowding the lobby of Pitman Hall at 6:05 on a Wednesday evening.

We walked over the AGO as the sun was setting and I led the students to the European art section, pointing out the paintings that their professor had selected for them. The next hour was a blur of answering questions, laying out essay structure, and reassuring students that the assignment would not be the end of them.

Overall, I counted the program as a success and left the AGO feeling like I'd carried on an Image Arts AL tradition.

Mithila Majithia

Academic Link

Image Arts

ResHero of the Week! Oct.22nd: Lauren Poetker

Hailing from Meaford, a small town near the Blue Mountains, Lauren Poetker has found a new home on ILLC 6 and is this week's RezHero. A student of the gruelling Interior Design program, Lauren enjoys the fact that Ryerson's campus is like a small town dropped right into the heart of Toronto, with our very own Lake Devo, our little patch of green within Kerr Hall and our own little statue opposite the bookstore on Gould Street. Lauren has known she wanted to pursue a career in interior design since Grade 8, and speaks animatedly about Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which she has always enjoyed because "people who deserve it" get the makeover they need. The inclination towards helping others seems to be a big part of Lauren's life, as she's the one who many often look to for anything from a clothes-iron to Polysporin. With a particular respect for "anyone who dedicates time to help other people," Lauren has dealt with a big change in jumping from a 5,000 strong town to a city with it's own Backwards-Walking Guy, but she has found "one big family" on ILLC 6.  When not working fervently in her coursework, Lauren can be found hanging out with her floor-family and trying to get to sleep despite all the "night-honking" that habitually surrounds Ryerson.

Rez Hero of the Week- Gerry Houngphilaphet

Gerry Houngphilaphet is passionate about films, design and fashion, but most of all he seems passionate about making friends. Hailing from Hamilton, the 19-year-old has visited

Toronto many times before and is down to help his floor in any way since the beginning of Frosh Week. Whether that involves carrying things for other people or just "being a buddy" when they need company, Gerry is the guy you want. A student in the Graphic Communications Management program, he is unabashedly enjoying his studies here as well; “I did the research before coming here,” says Gerry, “So I knew what to expect.” Citing Joseph Gordon-Levitt as one of his chief personal influences, Gerry says he respects not only J.G.L’s acting chops but also the actor’s online collaborative production company, hitRECord.org, which shares all profits with its contributing artists. Gerry is most animated when he talks about films and the people behind them – on his application to Ryerson, the Film Program was one of his main choices. As a GCM student, however, Gerry still gets to create and be involved in the design industry, and that suits him just fine. When not running around school, Gerry can be found at ILLC 11, where his entire floor is “pretty much joined at the hip.” He doesn’t know who nominated him, but does after some consideration, admit that now he feels like passing the good deed on. 

Residence students in the news!

Check out posts from two of our residence students:

Dillion Li- on experiencing residence a second year in a row from the Ryerson Admissions Blog http://whyryerson.ca/my-residence-experience-2nd-round/

Patricia Skagen-Empokpae- on  being a year round frosh-leader from the RU Student Life Blog http://whyryerson.ca/my-residence-experience-2nd-round/

Our student leaders are amazing!

SHS

ResHero of the Week! Oct. 1-5th: Jordan Mady

His one complaint about living on Rez, or in Toronto for that matter, is that “you can’t see the stars,” but otherwise, Jordan Mady is doing well enough here to be this week’s ResHero. A student of the Journalism program, Jordan is extremely passionate about writing and enjoys sports, but interestingly is considering writing fiction for a living. Jordan enjoys “how nice everyone is here,” especially his home-floor Pitman 14, and looks up to his RA for all her smiles and cheer. Eager to do good deeds and help those who need it, Jordan’s keep-your-chin-up philosophy in life is as simple as it is endearing. The hunt, as it seems for him, is for “something bigger” to be a part of, and perhaps that’ll be easier to find here than in Sittisville, Ont., but the hunt has begun.  For now, this 18-year-old is satisfied just moving along with his studies and lending a shoulder along the way.

Congratulations Jordan, you're awesome!

Business Networking Workshop

Check out this post recapping the Business Networking Workshop by Lisa Hooey one of our Academic Links-Business.

On Friday September 24th Ryerson Business students participated in an "Ice-cream Networking Social" run by us TRSM AL's, Lisa Hooey and Alexa Muir. During this event students discovered the importance of networking in the business world and how to gain contacts and create strong connections.

 The students learned how to utilize their networks to create opportunities, land jobs and climb the ranks in the workplace. After the interactive presentation students were able to then practice their networking skills over a bowl of ice-cream which was when the fun started! The room was buzzing with positive interactions between strangers and we were more than impressed to see contact information being exchanged

. Thank you to those students who participated, we hope to see you again at our next event!

SHS

Terry Fox Run-2012

Ryerson Residence blog post, by Alishia Liolli, RA - Pit6, LLC - Leadership:

On Sunday Sept 16th, 2012, the students in the Leadership Living Learning Community planned and participated in the Annual Terry Fox Run for Central Toronto. Each student who participated ran between 5km and 10km. 

For some students, it was their first time supporting the cause, and for others it was a tradition that they thought would be beneficial to bring to the Ryerson residence community. 

 Our team raised a total of $415 for the Terry Fox Foundation in support of cancer research. 

Thank You to all who participated and donated!

SHS

Residents Around Campus- Tips and Tricks

Check out videos from RU Student Life and Ryerson's media page highlighting important tips on getting used to campus, what they wish they they knew and much more featuring residence students!

http://www.ryerson.ca/news/media/spotlight/bts2012/20120912_survival.html

SHS

Move In Day 2012

Yesterday we welcomed many of our news 2012-2013 residents to Ryerson campus and Residence buildings!

We would like to thank all of our hard working volunteers and student staff for their help with the day!

Check out a article on one of our new incoming students here.

Welcome class of 2016!

Student Housing Services

Renovated Pitman Hall Apartments

The Pitman Hall apartments have received some renovations in preperation of the 2012-2013 new residents! Take a look at the changes!

We look forward to seeing you on August 26th!

SHS