BY SUZANNAH EVANS
STAFF WRTERS
Following two years of experience as a Franciscan University residence assistant, Michael Aldrich is now residence coordinator of Lower Campus. In this new position, he aims to promote the greatness that is Lower Campus.
“Unfortunately, a lot of people hear bad things about living on Lower Campus, but really, my residents love it,” he said.
In fact, during the room switch period, only five people moved to Upper Campus. Aldrich is working hard to make Lower Campus the prime place to live. Through the help of his residence assistants, Kaitlin Maloney, Elijah Simon and Andrew Koehler, Aldrich makes Lower Campus a prayerful place.
Aldrich prays often with his residents and encourages his residence assistants to do the same as well as lead lives of personal prayer.
“The time it takes to walk up the hill is the perfect amount of time to say the chaplet of divine mercy,” he said.
In weekly one-on-one meetings, Aldrich often asks his resident assistants how they are doing in their personal lives with Jesus. The Lower Campus staff also has a set of goals for the semester: a spiritual, a general and a professional goal.
Aldrich also requires each of the resident assistants to host an additional social program each semester in order to build up community.
Aldrich is currently working on his master’s degree in education after receiving his undergraduate degree in mathematics and theology last year. He is looking at career paths ranging from becoming a lawyer to a theology or math teacher.
On June 4, Aldrich will wed his fiancée, senior education major Elizabeth Dempsey. They have lots of options ahead of them and are considering their hometown of Cincinnati, among several other possibilities, for a location in which to settle.