Nervous about living away from home? Northeastern’s residential life director has tips
Brie McCormick has been helping students settle in at Northeastern since 2007. She shares everything new Huskies need to know about making campus feel like home.
At Brie McCormick’s freshman orientation in the 1990s, her parents received a consequential bit of advice.
“They were told not to have their kids come home for several weeks,” she recalls. “Have them stay on campus. Because the connections we were going to build in those first few weeks were critical.”
The guidance stuck with McCormick, now Northeastern University’s senior residential life director; she shares it with new undergraduates and their families who set foot on the Boston campus each fall. It can be initially uncomfortable, but the separation encourages students to immerse themselves in the community they will call home for the next few years. What’s more, it allows them to grow familiar with turning to the support on campus — including residential staff, mental health resources, and avenues to get involved.
McCormick has worked in residential life at Northeastern since 2007, so she has plenty more expert advice to give — from what to pack to move in to taking advantage of everything going on in and around the residence halls. Read on for her tips to make campus feel like home.
Pack light — but bring a bit of home
In general, McCormick says that less is more when moving in to the residence halls. “Don’t bring everything you had at home because there’s not going to be room for it,” she advises. Coordinating with roommates on a packing list ahead of time, if possible, can be helpful, and students don’t have to move in with everything at once. “You can bring stuff up during semester breaks,” she suggests.
Packing light is made easier by the fact that many bigger items are not permitted, including microwaves (in dorms without kitchens) and fridges larger than 3 cubic feet. (Students can rent “microfridge” combos from preferred university vendors.) No outside furniture, either.
“Those headboards you see all over social media are not allowed,” McCormick says. “We have a very strict policy for our fire, health and safety codes, not to have anything upholstered. Things like beanbag chairs and couches will be turned away.”
She does recommend bringing small comforts of home: a favorite quilt, pictures of family and friends.”That’s important [during] such a big transition.”
Your roommate doesn’t have to be your bestie
Some of the most common anxieties McCormick hears from students and parents each year revolve around roommates.
“They worry about what happens if it’s not the right connection,” she says. Having an amicable arrangement is important, she notes, “but you probably won’t live with someone who shares every interest with you, or your best friend. And actually, that’s preferred.”
That’s because venturing out of the dorms is a crucial part of “finding your people,” McCormick believes. The more impetus students have to get out and about, the better.
“They’re not going to spend a tremendous amount of time in their rooms. It’s a space for sleeping.”
Explore the ‘neighborhood’
McCormick and the residential life staff at Northeastern make sure students have plenty of ways to build those new friendships. First-year students are grouped into one of over a dozen “Living Learning Communities” based on shared interests, hobbies or study tracks. Groups range from “Women in Khoury College of Computer Sciences” to “Healthy Living,” with faculty and staff liaisons who support students and plan events: dinners, resume-building workshops, journaling sessions, even game labs. Residential Life also hosts what McCormick calls “neighborhood engagements” several times per year where students from Living Learning Communities can mingle.
“We want students to spend a majority of their time in their experience at Northeastern outside of their specific bed space,” McCormick says. “If that’s in a common area within the residence hall, going to Snell Library, going to Curry Student Center, whatever that may be.”
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Get involved
College is also a time to explore activities and interests that are completely new.
“We encourage [students] to dabble in different things, McCormick says. “It may not be something you did in high school; majors change, friend groups change, clubs and organizations change. And that’s OK.”
That could take the form of joining a new church or gym, or taking up a new intramural sport. For the civic and volunteer-minded, McCormick highly recommends getting involved in Hall Council or the Resident Student Association, which allow undergraduates to weigh in on programming and community needs.
Resident assistants and staff are your first call
McCormick and her staff oversee an infrastructure that offers students multiple layers of support, from undergraduate resident assistants to faculty residents who live on campus with their families.
“It’s about having as many touch points as we can with students,” McCormick says.
Each hall floor has an RA — in Boston, there are approximately 270 depending on the campus population. “They’re going to be the ones facilitating engagements and helping with any conflict navigation or crisis management,” McCormick says. “We have RA office hours every night from 7:00 to 11:00, including weekends.”
“The next level is our residence directors, who live on campus,” she continues. “They are full-time professionals, many with master’s degrees. They work Monday through Friday and have hours outside of that time — we are a co-op institution so night hours are important.”
Their tasks can range from juggling a college courseload to roommate disputes and, especially in the first few months, homesickness.
“Ultimately it’s a lot of support and we just need students, or a parent or guardian, to reach out if there’s something that they want to talk through.”
Schuyler Velasco is the campus & community editor for Northeastern Global News. Email her at s.velasco@northeastern.edu. Follow her on X/Twitter @Schuyler_V.
