Western New England University

Home College Hallmarks & Quirks

Hallmarks and Quirks

Things I'm Good At:

Pharmacy. I have a whole building dedicated primarily to it and even named after it. It's a spiffy building with spiffy equipment and students who're trying to remember when they last left the lab for...well, any reason.
Residence life. My residence life staff makes it super-quick and easy to pick housing every year. I'm also proud to offer gender-neutral options. Label jars, not people.
Peace and quiet. Sure, every so often there's a loud weekend party in one of the apartments or townhouses—but overall, I like to keep the volume low.
Programming—not the computer kind, the community-building kind. I love to organize all kinds of fun stuff so that my students never run out of options and are stuck at some lame party on what was supposed to be a fun Friday night.
Exercise. I have an excellent Healthful Living Center (yes, it's a fancy name for a gym, but it's what the alumni pay for) with plenty of workout equipment, a track, and a pool. Freshman Fifteen? Forget it.
Pastries. I have a professional pastry chef making all our dining hall and school bakery yummies.

My Top 5 Must-Haves:

Rain boots. When it rains, it pours, and you'll be sloshing through puddles all the way to class. Leave the UGGs at home—they're totally gross when wet. You don't want to get to class with what looks like drowned rats on your feet.
A car or a friend with one. You'll love your independence once you move out of traditional housing and don't have to eat in the dining hall three times a day anymore, but you're not going to buy all your groceries in the dollar store across the street. Make sure you've got some decent transport.
The Dunkin' Donuts app. You don't realize how much you love coffee and donuts until there's one within walking distance. With the app, you can at least get yourself some free drinks while munching your way into a chocolate-glazed coma.
Clothes for every kind of weather. In New England, the weather does what it wants. It'll be fifty-five degrees on Tuesday and snowing on Thursday, so be prepared for anything at all times.
Interests. If I said it once, I'll say it again—I have so many clubs and organizations on campus that it's basically impossible to not join something. Especially when you see how much fun everyone else is having.

Why You Might Have Heard of Me:

If you live in Western Massachusetts or Northern Connecticut. I'm pretty popular around these parts—not to brag or nothin'.
Most recently, The Biggest Loser: Glory Days put me on the map. Remember Rob Guiry? Yeah, I know him.

On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...

Oh, boy, where can you not find me? I can be caught any number of places on a Saturday night, and sometimes it gets really hard to choose.

The Rock Café and Rivers Memorial Hall on campus always have fun activities on Saturday nights. There's lots of free stuff, too, which is great—free shirts and gift card giveaways help keep that hole from burning in my pocket. Plus, it's a great way to hang out with friends.

If I'm looking for something a little more exciting, I like to head over to Paddy's Irish Pub with my over-twenty-one crowd and have a few drinks—and probably a few slices from Peppa's by the Slice, which is connected to the bar. Their French fry pizza is absolutely to die for. Paddy's usually has a DJ on weekends and it gets pretty lively in there.

If I don't feel like going anywhere, though, it's takeout and a movie with the roomies for me. #NoJudgments

Favorite Hangouts:

The St. Germain Campus Center has everything you need—the dining hall, Subway, The Grille, Bene Pizzeria, the POD store, and Starbucks—in one central location.
The library. I like studying and reading, and the D'Amour Library allows for plenty of quiet.
Rivers Memorial Hall. Even when there aren't events happening in there, Rivers is home to a bunch of clubs' offices, as well as the WNEK Radio Station.

Quirks:

I changed from a college to a university in 2011, but my nickname is still WNEC: We Never, Ever Close. Snow days are a rarity with me, so if you want a day off, you'd better hope for a tornado.
You get noticed here. That can be both good and bad. Professors will notice all your hard work, but if you skip class, well...they're gonna notice that too.
The Rock. I know I mentioned The Rock Café, but this is a different rock. This is a legitimate boulder just sitting in the middle of campus. It gets painted about once a week to promote programs, events, people, and more, so it's always different.

Famous Alumni:

The Biggest Loser's Rob Guiry. He may have lost the weight, but he's still a lot to love.
Anthony Katagas, Academy Award-winning producer of the film Twelve Years a Slave. You better recognize.
Rodney Smith, 1992 Olympic Bronze medalist