At the end of the last semester, the ASFA community said their goodbyes to longtime nurse and dorm advisor Mr. Jason Akins. As the new semester began, dorm students returned with a number of changes in the aftermath of his departure.
Taking Mr. J’s position in a way, new dorm director Chidima “Chi-Chi” Orji steps up from her previous position as a resident advisor, or RA.
“I won’t do all of the roles Mr. J. [was] doing, but primarily afternoon dorm activities, scheduling, overseeing the RAs, overseeing [dorm students] . . . I’m the one to make sure and maintain that all of that is going on for the spring semester,” she says.
Chi-Chi has planned some smaller changes as she takes Mr. J’s role, including a more active dorm life for ASFA residents.
“Our goal is to have at least two big programs every month with a movie night most Thursdays,” Chi-Chi says. “We’re gonna try to be more active on the Instagram and make sure [dorm students] are able to connect with [the RAs] not only physically but also socially.”
Programs are small events for dorm students typically hosted after school, which might include pumpkin carving for Halloween, making gingerbread houses for the holidays, and making vision boards for the new year. As dorm students are normally balancing school and independent life as children, Chi-Chi hopes these programs will allow residents to relax and let go of their responsibilities.
Chi-Chi also mentions the new RA Whitney Atwell, who began at the start of the new semester. Whitney currently attends the University of Alabama at Birmingham as a psychology major. Some students might recognize Whitney as she is an ASFA alumna, having graduated from the Theatre Arts department three years ago.
“I loved ASFA and honestly ASFA was kind of my home for a while, and the RAs were always there for me and made me feel listened to,” Atwell says. “I think if I can do that for the kids here, it’ll be good.”
Whitney also speaks about Mr. J’s absence, how heavily it’s weighed on her, and the experience working without him.
“You know, it’s really sad, because I really wanted to work with him, but at the same time I think that things happen for a reason. There was a reason that I came as soon as he left,” Whitney remarks. “Mr. J being able to leave me with [the dorm students]—I think was a really good thing. I think the timing worked out perfectly, as much as it sucks.”
Whitney looks down the long road in this position, talking a bit about her plans for the future and why she decided to become an RA. She says, “I’m going to get my master's degree in counseling, and I felt it would be a very good experience for that.”
Atwell continues, “I mainly wanted this job because I thought it would be good, relevant experience for my future endeavors as a therapist, because you [dorm] kids have the most amount of pressure put on you. . . . You’re also far away from your families and I understand how that feels."
On the topic of experience, with Chi-Chi’s long employment at the school, she’s been able to see how the dorm changes and improves. With herself at the head, she hopes the dorm is in better shape than when she arrived.
“I’m a firm believer that I always want to leave a place better than it was when I came in, so my hope and my prayer is that this will be the foundation needed to put the dorm in a place where . . . not only are the students happy, the parents are happy, the administration is happy.” Chi-Chi says. “[Dorm students] truly do love to be [at the dorm]. . . . but I do feel like there are some areas where the dorm needs to improve. Hopefully by getting more attention to the dorm, [dorm students] can get the change they deserve.”
Chi-Chi’s heart for the dorm has also grown tremendously. To her, the residents sacrifice a lot in order to pursue their passions, and this passion is starkly evident in every student. She comments, “I believe that the dorm truly is a community for [students] to be able to live, perform well, and do well in school. Every single RA that works here truly do care about the students. We’ve always been a student-first dorm.”
With new hire Whitney Atwell, and Chi-Chi stepping up with her position in the dorm, the residents at ASFA are certainly excited about what these changes may bring.
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