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Faculty, Staff & Student Leadership

Faculty and staff leadership has an important role in defining the residential college experience by bridging the proverbial curricular/co-curricular gap, thereby strengthening the academic and intellectual climate of the community.  While different universities use different nomenclature for their residential college administrative structure, all emphasize the importance of faculty presence. At Virginia Tech, the Faculty Principal, Student Life Coordinator, and Administrative Graduate Fellow all live in the community and provide guidance and support for the student leadership. In addition, there is a Project Specialist and Area Office Manager that work in the building and provide support for both of the residential colleges in Ambler Johnston Hall.

HRC Faculty and Staff

Photo of Dr. Natalie Cook

Dr. Natalie Cook
Faculty Principal

Photo of Tanner Cooper

Tanner Cooper 
Program Coordinator

Photo of Mohannad "Mo" Ismail


Emily Tirrell
Graduate Residential Fellow

Affiliated Staff

The following individuals have offices in Ambler Johnston Hall and provide direct support to Honors Residential Commons operations:

Maggie HolmesArea Office Manager
Ambler Johnston Hall 1316, meholmes@vt.edu, 540-231-5018

Student Leadership

The Honors Residential Commons has a robust, shared-leadership approach to self–governance. The formal leadership structures include the Commons Council (elected by popular vote of the HRC fellowship), Student Leaders (selected through a rigorous hiring process), and Apartment Fellows (appointed based on group application and interviews). All of these student leaders work together to steward the mission of the residential college. In fact, every student, regardless of their age, year, or position, is a leader within the Honors Residential Commons. There is no limit to what each student can do or contribute, and because of that every student is encouraged to make a difference in the community.

COMMONS COUNCIL


Naira Rodriguez, President
Nhi Truong, Vice President
Shenan Reese, Historian
Rafael Viray, Secretary
Tyler Pulliam, Treasurer
Ashwin Srinivasan, Academic Enrichment

Riley Nichols, Programming
Jacob Tennant, Service

STUDENT LEADERS


Clare Sawyer, 2nd Low
Kiyah Costin, 2nd High
Brendan Roeting, 3rd Low
Alex Drummond, 3rd High
Gabby Biehn, 4th Low

Nami Jain, 5th Low
Steven Hernandez, 5th High
Daisy Yates, 6th Low
Esther Park, 6th High

APARTMENT FELLOWS

4th High - Planet Polyglot


Naira Rodriguez
Nhi Truong
Emily LiBraaten
Sarika Maganahalli


4th Low - Bucket List Buccaneers


Alex Rodriguez
Noah Syed
Anthony Navarrete
Will Bae

5th High - Hygee Home


Phoebe Scarborough
Olivia Thacker
Michele Mickelwait
Ivy Brundege

5th Low - Sunshine and Study Shack


Shenan Reese
Carol Rector
Riley Nichols
Neelie Harris

6th High - Cross Disciplinary Cafe


Ella Reitmeier
Leela Ohri
Aiden Buckner
Ben Montimy


6th Low - Frisbee Fellowship


Rafael Viray
Jacob Tennant
Tyler Pulliam
Brock Duma