Courtney Hampton
Staff Writer
Photo by Cari Urabe
Meet Cari Urabe, Resident Director for Manzanita Village
What is the best part of your job?
My favorite part of the job is working with our students. I enjoy working with a large staff here in Manzanita, but I also love the interactions I have with students through the groups that I advise as well as the people that I meet through other various meetings. I am grateful that I get to do things that I am interested in, such as working with the Multicultural Awareness Chairs and iBuddy, which we just started this year in the residence halls. Also, we have a pretty fantastic professional and paraprofessional staff that work in Residential and Community Living which make living where you work pretty wonderful. Plus, I live in the Rainbow House in Manzanita Village and love this community.
What is the worst part of your job?
My least favorite thing about this job is that I can’t do this longer. This is my third and last year as a Resident Director, so I am definitely going to miss living and working in Manzanita.
Describe a memorable moment while on the job.
I think my most memorable moment while on the job would be seeing RAs that I used to supervise become Assistant Resident Directors and working with them in their new role. That happened to me this year, where the two ARDs that currently work in Manzanita used to be on my staff two years ago. It has been amazing working with them again and that has been a highlight for me this year.
What makes UCSB’s residential life unique?
Residential life at UCSB is really wonderful because there are a lot of professionals who care about our students. People here love what they do and that really shows. That goes for our Housing and Residential Services department—from the time I wake up and see our maintenance staff around Manzanita, to seeing our RAs interacting with their residents in the day and ending with dinner in the dining commons, there are just so many staff here that do a good job and provide excellent service to our students.
Res Life hosts many floor events to help integrate. Which one was your favorite that you have attended?
I think there are so many fun and engaging programs that are offered throughout the year. My favorite programs are the ones that are held off campus such as hikes or boat rides on the double dolphin to experience more of what Santa Barbara has to offer.