University Housing has been incredibly busy this semester! Your programs have entertained us, educated us, and led us to grow. The Vols @ Home team has attended many of these programs, and celebrated these events on social media. Each program highlighted the #LifeOfVols, and displayed the Tennessee Volunteer spirit. On Halloween, Brown Hall had a Glow Rave featuring a live DJ, glow sticks, and refreshments. For Thanksgiving, Orange and White Hall hosted a Thanksgiving feast for those who wouldn’t be home to celebrate. Before finals, 
Stokely Hall hosted an “Adulting is Hard: 90’s Night” so residents could enjoy being a kid again before their big tests! Within the halls, we also had the privilege of recognizing Office Assistants and Resident Assistants for working hard to engage with residents. As the holiday season draws near, we want to say thank you for the work you are doing. We appreciate the time you’ve put into programming for residents this semester, and we appreciate you letting us share these stories. University Housing is a large department, and we are committed to sharing the ways you are connecting with residents on a daily basis, so the entire housing team, campus, and community can celebrate.
This semester, programs have engaged with residents in many unique ways, and we would like to recognize your creativity in providing a positive, educational, and fun 
environment for residents to call home! We knew this would be a creative semester of programming from the beginning, when we were able to share the RA Lip Sync contest live for the first time in its history via Facebook. From the POWER Challenge to sustainability tips, you have encouraged residents to participate in making a difference in fun ways, like going door-to-door to collect recyclables or sharing tips on social media to power down rooms appropriately for the holiday break.
Engaging with social media is a different way to connect to your residents, and the delegation to SAACURH took over the University Housing Instagram during their conference to keep residents updated and informed about the work they were doing there! Stokely Hall’s program “Adulting is Hard: 90’s Night” generated conversation on social media among parents and students when it was featured in a blog post, and URHC’s “Doggos” program to de-
stress before finals almost went viral when shared! Besides these programs, we recognize that you connect with residents every day in ways that go unseen and unheard, and we want to celebrate you for those interactions, too. Office Assistant and Resident Assistant appreciation week were a chance to do that, as head staff members selected exemplary OAs to highlight, and every hall staff was celebrated on social media during the week of RA appreciation.
The year has been a nonstop ride of enjoyment and we are so happy to have shared these moments with you all. We are grateful for amazing students, taking advantage of the many opportunities that living on campus has to offer. It makes being a member of the Vols @ Home team fun and exciting, showcasing just how rewarding living in our many residence halls can be. From hall programming, conferences, caring resident assistants and staff, it is not hard for anyone to see that University Housing is truly one of a kind. We want to continue our budding relationship with hall staff in the coming semester so that we can truly highlight how essential each of you are to on-campus living. We know that you all are doing great things and cannot wait to highlight it even more in the spring. Have a happy holiday season!
Sincerely,
The Vols @ Home Team