Hey MTV welcome to my new crib

Camino and Founders residence halls undergo a long-awaited renovation.

Yana Kouretas / Feature Editor / The USD Vista

The best of times, the worst of times: freshman year. We have all heard or imagined the horror stories of the archetypal chaos that is dorm life for a first-year student.

 The quintessential freshman-year experience can usually encompass situations like outdated communal bathrooms, old and unreliable furniture, or even clogged shower drains. But, this is the essence of the memories for those who have lived through this. 

Senior Tony Le recalls his time in Camino Hall long before renovations ensued.

“Being a communal style dorm, it can get a little cramped and crowded but the cleaning staff really did an amazing job making sure that it was cleaned throughout the week,” Le said. “The bathrooms would occasionally have an issue that would require maintenance but never something as crazy as when the showers in Founders Hall had to be turned off for a few days.”

However, first-years who stepped into Camino and Founders residence halls this year are likely to never experience any of these “predicaments.” Instead, they are greeted with marble countertops, flat screens TVs, stainless steel refrigerators, and other sophistications that first-years might not even use.  The newest buildings to be renovated on campus to date, these two halls—Camino for boys and Founders for girls–look like they were taken directly from a Restoration Hardware catalog. 

Freshman Darien Aranda, a Camino Hall resident, is just one of many other individuals who will not know of any other kind of living this year, other than the luxury that Camino Hall offers.

“The facilities are much nicer than I expected, and everyone on the floor is super friendly, so that was a pleasant surprise,”Aranda said. “The dorms are super spacious and there are tons of storage space that’s tucked away and convenient.”

The accessible location is just another part of a handful of perks. Founders residents are a quick stroll away from Founders chapel and both are in ideal proximity from the central courtyard they share. Buildings that house most classes, such as the Kroc Institute of Peace and Justice, or Camino Hall are a walk in the park for the Camino and Founders residents, opposed to those who live down in the Valley or in the San Buenaventura residence hall. 

Plans to remodel these residence halls were originally instituted when the Renaissance plan emerged at USD. This project is founded on the intent to rectify deferred maintenance at the University, particularly with problems like leaks in underground gas and steam pipes and in the showers of Founders and Camino Halls. 

Zachary Randel, senior project manager of Planning Design Construction, shed light on the resolution to make Founders and Camino Hall a better and safer quality of living. 

“The larger Camino Founders project was a deferred maintenance project: mechanical, electrical, plumbing renovations, American Disabilities Act (ADA) upgrades, first floor air conditioning, new energy efficient windows, and more.”

Randel was also content to applaud the rest of the team who capitalized on the decision to take Camino and Founders in a direction that complements USD’s overall transition to more efficient and modern resources and amenities. 

“We have a great Auxiliary Services and Residential Life team at this university and it was their mission to make living in Camino and Founders Hall an experience— more than just a place to sleep and shower,” Randel said.

Regardless, some students tend to encapsulate their first-year experience not by the state of their residence halls, but from the sense of community that comes from living with a large number of people. Freshman Jayden Soukalis, a Valley B resident, is one individual who shares this feeling. 

 “Although Valley B isn’t the nicest housing on campus, I think it still is a step up from housing at a lot of schools,” Soukalis said. “I think the freshman experience is more about living on campus and with other freshmen than how nice the housing is. I don’t think it would make a difference to me.”

Despite differing opinions, one thing is for sure: Camino and Founders residence halls have become a much safer living environment and are likely to become coveted residential spaces for years to come.