Housing office provides students a H~lUeAWIl~ 'r~1U H~lUe Some of the most memorable moments of college life come from experiences in the dorm room with your roommate and your friends on the hall. Many students have met their best friend simply because the office of residence life chose to put them together. Patty Barrett, director of residence life for more 'than 20 years, took on the responsibility again this year of finding bousing for every student on campus. Not only did she find them housing, she also tried to place them where they wanted to live. She tried to work out the best possible situation for each student to live with the roommate oftheir choice on the hall oftheir choice. "Every year we have worked it out that each pair that wanted to be together has been able to do so," Barrett said. "There may come a time when that will not be the case but we always want to help the kids get where they want." Barrett's job is no easy task, and it has not gotten any easier Zearl Watson, director of student financial services, assists a student in forming a financial plan. Zearl; who announced his retirement this year, and the financial aid office was invaluable to students needing help paying for college through loans or grants. Photo by Daniel Dubois. Nurse Ann McClarty checks a studentDs blood pressure in the nurseOs building behind Kendall Hall. The office provided everything from bandages to flu shots for ailing students. Photo by Daniel Dubois. considering Harding has almost doubled in size in the years she has worked here. "Fairness is a huge issue," Barrett said. "I try my best to do things in a fair order. I try to be consistent to give the kids the best situation that I can." Barrett has worked in many different positions at Harding. In addition to herrole as director of residence life, she was also the director of social club activities from 1981-1990. Barrett also served as cheerleader sponsor for 10 years. In fact, she loves Harding athletics somuchthather family hasjoked that when she dies they are going to have her cremated and spread her ashes over the football field. Due to the busy nature of the office of residence life, Barrett said she has not been able to spend as much time with the students as she would like. "There's just not a lot of time for Sitting and visiting," she said "I miss that. But we still do interact with the students, that is why we are here." - Mac Bell
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