Name: Sarah Dorger
Year: Senior
Major/Minor: English and Professional Education, studying to become a high school English teacher
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
What is your favorite thing about Xavier?
On a small scale, I love how walkable our campus is — I really love taking walks, and the attention that Physical Plant pays to our wildlife makes for gorgeous strolls in spring. The Shrine of Our Lady over by Hinkle is my favorite spot on campus. On a larger scale, I love Xavier’s Jesuit identity and how that encourages students to think big about how to dedicate their lives to others. The Jesuit teachings have helped me become a more aware and compassionate teacher.
How many years were you an RA, did you anticipate on being an RA when coming to XU?
I was an RA for two years at Xavier, in the Apartments (Apartments Pride!). I miss being an RA but career and school obligations would have made it harder for me to devote enough attention to my residents. I did not anticipate becoming an RA when I started here at Xavier, but feel so blessed that I had the opportunity because I made so many connections because of it.
What was the most rewarding experience you had an RA?
Two experiences, actually: Once, going into an apartment and seeing my phone number stuck to the fridge, labeled “Mom”; the second experience was having a resident tell me I’m the first person he’s ever trusted enough to cry in front of and sitting with him in support during a difficult time.
You’re also involved with Sustainability, what are that all about?
While I am only marginally involved with the Sustainability Club, I did work for the Sustainability Department when it was located in Physical Plant and I was in charge of distributing compost bins to offices that wanted to compost, then going around once a week to collect the compost and dump it in our industrial composters. The rich dirt that was made from the compost would get used to fertilize our Urban Farm. I was the compost manager for two years, but unfortunately the Sustainability Department is in transition and the fate of the compost program is unknown to me right now.
How can other students get involved?
Sustainability Club is a fantastic student group here on campus and they do host events! They do everything from tie-dying tshirts with earth-safe inks to hosting speakers who come talk about how to get involved in the simplest of ways. Students who are interested should definitely join the Sustainability Club (meets every other Sunday evening in the sustainability office in the Innovation Center at 7pm), check out the Xavier Sustainability Facebook, and help us petition for having a Sustainability Director.