New Res Life director brings modern mindset to campus

By Hannah Newman

In late August, Rider welcomed a new Residence Life director, Sean Killion, whose passion for a vibrant on-campus living community and impactful roommate experience are evident in his use of modern, roommate-selection technology.

“Roommate conflicts are one of the greatest challenges that we deal with in our field, especially in the first two to four weeks of the semester, and just figuring out how to maximize success in that experience is pretty important,” said Killion. 

Killion said roommate-matching tools were starting to become a prominent factor in the roommate selection process, which is why he chose to research the impact they had on the student’s experience. 

“At the time [of writing my dissertation], the use of technology was really kind of new in how we were using technology for things like housing selection, roommate matching and how social media impacted that,” said Killion. “It was a really cool experience because we were one of the first schools to use Facebook and Roomsync.”

According to Killion’s research, these roommate selection tools did not change the trajectory of women’s experiences; however, it had a significant impact for men, as many performed better academically and forged stronger relationships with their roommates.

Director of Student Involvement and First Year Programs Kadi Diallo said, “I am excited to build on our success and collaborate with Sean and his team to continue providing our students with the best possible experience.”

A native of Philadelphia, Killion spent the last 17 years working at Temple University, his final position being the senior director of housing administration.

After graduating with a degree in business administration, Killion worked in marketing and advertising before deciding to go back to school, which led to his future in higher education, affording him the opportunity to receive his Master’s Degree, and later, a doctorate. 

Killion received his MBA at La Salle University, where he worked on the business side of housing administration and occupancy for four years. Afterward, he attended Temple University for his doctorate and wrote his dissertation on the impact of roommate matching on first-year student success. 

Despite the benefits of roommate matching technology, Killion stressed that students dictate their experience based on the way they go into the lifestyle shift of sharing a room. 

“A lot of times it’s about how students approach situations,” said Killion. “If students rely too much on the university or the process to give them what they need, that’s not the best solution. If they go into it with an open, positive attitude, those are the people that are going to have the most success.” 

A program that Killion instituted at Temple was a room-decorating contest that provided an opportunity for students to showcase their home away from home. The contest was a marketing opportunity for residence halls and illustrated the reality of living on campus. Killion hopes to bring something similar to Rider.

“It’s really hard to visualize that experience of [living in a dorm] in a clean way,” said Killion. “People spend a lot of money decorating their rooms, and I think capturing that is really exciting.”

Although Killion has analyzed various resources for students to have the best roommate experience, he concluded that the adventures that students encounter inside and outside of their dorms contribute immensely to their futures. 

“These experiences [conflicts with roommates] are good life lessons, because, when you graduate and start working professionally, you’re going to have conflicts in the workplace and you’re going to have to figure out how to deal with those things,” said Killion. “These moments are good ways to train and educate yourself on these types of situations.”