Features

When the University moved to remote learning in March, hundreds of students at the River Campus and Eastman School of Music campus were away on spring break.

Many never returned, leaving behind residence rooms filled with food, laundry, passports, electronics, fish tanks, plants, and more. All students’ property had to be sorted, packed, stored, or discarded, depending on each student’s preference. The process took months. Leading that arduous task was Laurel Contomanolis on the River Campus and Robert (Bert) Bones at Eastman.

In August, when the University welcomed back close to 4,000 undergraduate students, Contomanolis and Bones led the process of assigning rooms, scheduling student arrivals, and coordinating COVID-19 testing, all while planning how to manage a nine-week break between semesters and take care of students who stay on campus after the fall semester ends.

At the River Campus, Contomanolis says the entire residential life staff have risen to the challenge at a time of “ever changing expectations and scenarios.”