KELLER KA NI I By Brittany Simers l\fany freshmen a.1Tived on Harding's campus throughout the years wiLhout knowing a familiar face or having any expectations of the college lifestyle. \tVhen senior Kami Adams stepped foot on campus as a freshman four years ago, Harding ,,vas anything but new. Kami Adams al.ready had a strong sense of the Harding culture, because she spent the first five years of her childhood on campus as a dorm kid. Kami Adams' parenLs, Neville andjana Adams, scn·ed as residence life coordinators, or '·dorm parents," for men's dorm Keller HaJJ from I 987 to 1999. According to Jana. Kami and her older brothers, Kurt and Heath Adams, experienced an unusual kind of environment to grow up in Lhan that of most children. "They actually lived in the center of campus,"Jana said. "Dorm life is different than living in a house. They \\'ere very creati, e." Kami Adams said her family's li,ing arrangement taught her ho\\' to use her imagination. "I lowd it," Kami said. "I remember having to make fun out of little things. I had a birthday party when I was four or five, and we used the halJways in KeJJer as a runway for a fashion show. I remember having friends over a lot \Ve played in the courtyard and had lemonade tands." Senior Lyndsey Harrell, one of Ka.mi's friends and classmates, aid growing up in a dorm expo ed Kami to learning how to make college friendships early in life. ·'From tJ1e stories she's told, it sounds like she had tons of 'big brother ,"' HarrelJ said. "She's super confident in who she is and what she's doing with her life, and she's very good at getting to know new people." According to Kami, one of d1e best parts of gro'v\ing up in a dorm was interactingwim alJ of her "big brothers." ·'Some of the boys would play ""ith me, and I loved it," Kami said. '·J would alvvays play in the lobby and hope I wasn't annoying. They wl"re really nice Lo me." Having a friend who was accustomed to Harding was a big advantage for those who knew Kami but clid not know much about campus, according to HarrelJ. ''She already knew everything that was to be expected, and we had no expectations," Harrell said. ''She definitely made our freshman year much easier. She got us comfortable and made us feel welcome.., Becau e Kami was so familiar with the Harding atmosphere, there ,,·as some uncertainty surrounding her decision of choosing a college to attend, according toJana. "She wanted it to be her own decision," J ana said. 'The disadvantage to living here and doing what we did ,ms that she e:...'])etienced it a.lJ. She knew where everything was, and nothing was new." In the encl, Harding was the only option, according to Kami. "lt's all I've ever known," Kami said. "I've never known anything different. I kind of considered another school, but this has always felt like home." Few can sa_)' they a/tend college 011 the campus they called home as a child, but senior Kami Adams can. Adams spent jive years of her childhood /iz,ing in men's dorm Keller Hall where size had parties, sold lemonade and had fashion shows down the hallways. I Photo b)' Julia Reinbold! \F.\IOlt", <Iii( In
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