Every year incoming freshmen move into their residence halls, meet their roommates and start their college experiences. At NDSU, there are several resources to ensure you and your roommate have the best first year.
Samantha Couch and Teagan Stocker both met during orientation. While Couch and Stocker were uncertain about having a roommate at first, once they realized they shared similar personalities, they knew they would become best friends.
“I feel as though this experience has helped me become amazing friends with Samantha and connected us for life,” said Stocker, an art education major from Richmond, Minnesota.
As soon as they moved into their dorm in North Weible Hall, Couch and Stocker continued to connect.
“We both became comfortable with each other fairly quickly,” said Couch, an architecture major from Princeton, Minnesota. “We were open about setting boundaries early on, which helped us avoid misunderstandings. In the beginning, we spent most of our time in our rooms when we weren’t in class, so we had a lot of late-night conversations and chats that helped us build a connection.”
“Besides having the same humor and communication styles, I would say that we both are old spirits at heart. We both love crocheting, knitting, reading and even dabble in some Elvis music sometimes.” Stocker added.
In addition to their own efforts to befriend one another, NDSU’s Residence Life also helped make the transition to life on campus easier. Residence Life’s main purpose is to provide you with a place to live, learn and create the college experience you want.
For Couch and Stocker, their residence assistant helped to make their roommate experience positive by being there to provide advice and help navigate any challenges throughout the year.
“The roommate success plan at the start of the year was especially helpful, as it gave us a structured way to start discussing our boundaries and expectations for living together,” Couch said.
Residence Life provided accommodations for Stocker, who has an emotional support animal.
Both Couch and Stocker feel their first year at NDSU was an amazing kick-off to their college experience because of the memories they’ve created together.
“Having a roommate I get along with has made my first year in college an incredibly positive experience,” said Couch. “I’ve learned so much from Teagan, and I think she has learned from me. I truly value the friendship we’ve built and I know it’s one that will last beyond college.”
“Having Samantha as a roommate has been the most positive experience,” Stocker said. “The trips to the dining center, late night Walmart stops and girl dates at Tea and Crepe with Samantha have been memories that I wouldn’t trade for anything.”
The duo’s advice to incoming students is to set boundaries and communicate early with roommates.
“Work past the discomfort,” Stocker said. “Learning about each other, setting up boundaries and having difficult conversations may seem daunting, but they are crucial for an amazing experience.”
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