By Sharon Oosthoek
Making friends, feeling secure in the big city and adjusting to the “soap opera syndrome” – it’s all part of life at Centennial College’s residence

When Elizabeth Jaszczur first walked through the doors of Centennial College’s residence, she had her doubts about whether the former hotel could ever truly be a home Students in Centennial College's residence away from home. “I was kind of skeptical since it was a hotel. I don’t like the formality of hotels. I didn’t know how homey I could make it. But they’re pretty open to making it yours,” says Jaszczur, a 20-year-old journalism student from Woodstock, Ont.

In fact, she and her roommate have completely rearranged the furniture in their room and covered the bland hotel art with posters more to their taste. With the exception of the headboards and mirror, which are bolted to the walls, it’s hard to tell it’s a former hotel room.

While the rooms are very much reflections of their occupants, the rest of the residence still looks like the former Howard Johnson hotel it was built to be 30 years ago. Students share meals in a light-filled atrium, next to a small indoor pond. A glass elevator takes them to their rooms. The front desk and the lobby, complete with wingback chairs and conservatively tasteful sofas, is standard hotel decor.

The joys of residence life
But the atmosphere in the residence is nothing like a hotel, where guests come and go and often never talk to one another. Living so close together, students get to know each other well. That can be both good and bad.

Alex McKay, a 19-year-old paramedic student from Brampton, Ont., talks about the good: “I had my own apartment last year and it was completely boring. When I moved here it was so much better. I made so many friends,” he says.

Ashley Strong, a 20-year-old early childhood education student, agrees. Coming from Port Elgin, Ont., she didn’t know anyone in Toronto and was nervous about moving to a big city. Now she knows so many people from residence that she can’t walk down the halls at school without someone stopping to say hello.

Strong says that on quiet nights, she and her friends hang out in each other’s rooms, watching videos and talking. They also play pool or video games in the atrium. And when they feel like getting out, everyone travels en mass down the street to a nearby bar.

Jaszczur says she likes the sense of security that comes with living and socializing with other students. “I feel safer here than I would some places. You hear a lot of things, like it’s a rough neighbourhood, but we travel together. Thirty of us will go to the bar down the street,” she says.

The soap opera syndrome
But living in such close quarters can also be a hassle. “It’s like a soap opera here,” jokes Jaszczur. “Yeah, you’re always involved in somebody else’s problems,” says Strong. “It’s hard to get your ‘alone time.’ You always have a roommate and she might have someone over. If you want ‘alone time’ you have to announce it.”

Ashley says that sometimes the best way to get time to herself is to commute to school. The residence is across the street from the Progress campus, but students studying at the other campuses must take transit or drive.

While some residents find the commute a hassle, these three don’t seem to mind. McKay uses his transit ride to get caught up on reading. Jaszczur has the longest commute – 50 minutes to The Centre for Creative Communications – but even she doesn’t complain.