From fruition to tradition; dorm decorating
By Jasmine White
RESIDENCE Life hosted their first dorm decorating contest in fall 2025, with the hopes to make it an annual tradition. Students were prompted to design their dorm rooms, whether a single dorm or one shared with a roommate, and send in pictures of their living space for a chance to win the best dorm room for the semester.
Many students entered the competition, but one pair’s room in particular rose above all others: freshman musical theater major Abiageal McBee and freshman elementary education major Julia Dumaresq’s dorm in Wright Hall was dubbed best dorm room of 2025-26.
McBee explained how the theme of their dorm room came from Dumaresq, considering the color “blue has been her vibe for probably her entire life.”
“[The theme of the room is] either blue or ‘Mamma Mia,’” Dumaresq said. “I have a major obsession with the movie ‘Mamma Mia’ so that’s where I took the main blue floral patterning, coastalish vibe from.”
Dumaresq and McBee had a longtime relationship prior to attending Rider. They attended Bayshore Middle School in Leonardo, New Jersey, meeting during their 7th grade year and continued onto Middletown High School in Middletown Township, New Jersey, together preparing for the college application processes.
Dumaresq was originally going to attend Moravian University before switching over to Rider, but she later realized that Rider was “the better fit” for her program of study.
McBee admitted that she was very anxious upon applying to colleges and leaving home for the first time. Dumaresq agreed that transitioning into this new chapter of her life was frightening at first, but coming into a new setting with someone she could trust made it easier.
“It’s really great to have people that I know and I have someone that I can go to an event with [so that I am not] walking around alone, which feels better,” Dumaresq said.
McBee explained how they met one another through mutual friends in middle school, freshman accounting major Emma Topp and freshman undecided major Aylin Pyle, who also attend Rider and dorm together in Hill Hall. Out of the three girls, McBee felt most compatible with Dumaresq because of their similar interests, organizational skills and sleep schedules.
“Well me and [Dumaresq] have a very similar [living style because] we are both clean and we both wake up and go to bed around the same time,” McBee said. “We’re still best friends, we know each other so well and we know that we are most compatible.”
Though the two girls were not originally the closest out of the friend group, they took the chance and roomed together, strengthening their friendship.
McBee and Dumaresq agreed that they were lucky to have a bond prior to going away to college and acknowledged that not everyone has that luxury. For those who are just starting out, they advised newcomers to take advantage of any ways available to find a comfortable roommate match.
“My biggest piece of advice coming in is to definitely use your resources,” McBee said. “Find people on Instagram and find people that you know that are looking for a roommate and try to get a connection before you come into college.”
McBee added on about the importance of learning a person before moving in with them saying,“If it’s at least meeting up like once before, talking about your room, talking about your likes and dislikes to just get to know the person on a personal level.”
