Resident Spotlight: Whitney Merrifield a.k.a. Miss Utah 2009

As one of the proud sponsors of the Miss Utah Pageant, Wolverine Crossing has become the "Home of Miss Utah". We became a sponsor midway through Miss Utah 2008, Kayla Barclay's reign, and are now proud and ecstatic to have Whitney Merrifield join our community. Whitney was crowned miss Utah on June 20, 2009. Here's Whitney's bio and some pictures of her crowning:

Whitney Merrifield is a student at Brigham Young University, majoring in communications with an emphasis in Broadcast Journalism and is a trained classical pianist. As a junior in High School, she was honored to find herself as Miss Pleasant Grove; which led to the opportunity to represent Utah at the National Sweethearts pageant in Illinois, competing against other women who placed first runner-up in their respective state pageants across the country. During that national pageant, Whitney took home a preliminary talent award and a spot in the top ten. As Miss Utah County, Whitney competed again on the state level and in June, was crowned Miss Utah 2009. During her reign, she will spend the year serving as an ambassador of service for the Miss Utah Organization, the Children’s Miracle Network and the Child Protection Registry of Utah. Travelling thousands of miles, speaking and performing at several events per day, Whitney will get the chance to spread her message and continue working on her service platform entitled “Be the Change Utah!” Her goal is to get the Challenge Day program into as many high schools as possible during her year. A native of Lindon, Utah, Whitney is the oldest of seven children. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, dancing, and writing poetry and is fluent in Spanish.

Whitney receiving the crown from Kayla. Kayla we'll miss you!

We are so happy to have Whitney join our community. Residents can look forward to activities and events featuring Whitney over the course of the next year.

For more information on the Miss Utah Pageant and Whitney's community appearances and platform, please visit the Miss Utah Website. You can also learn more about Whitney on her blog, "Whit's Whit and Words".

Congratulations Whitney and welcome to Wolverine Crossing.

Moving in...

We have been getting a lot of questions in the office about move-in day: what to bring, what not to bring, where to go, etc. We are going to be sending every one of our future residents a move-in packet in a week or so. It will include very helpful information about move-in day, and be able to answer majority of the general questions that our future residents may have. We know there are those who are starting to buy things for their apartment, so to help, below is some information about what you need to bring (all of this will be included in the move-in packet, but for those who can't wait...here you go):

- Shower curtains (and rings) Towels, hair dryer, etc.
- Pillow sheets, blanket and comforter (beds are normal single beds)
- Laundry detergent, basket and clothes hangers
- Trash cans, trash bags and cleaning supplies
- Alarm clock
- Toiletries, sewing kit and tissues
- Computer and Printer
- Ethernet cables (CAT5E) for wired internet access, cable hook up chord
- Money, checkbook, credit or debit card
- Social Security card, birth certificate, or passport and driver's license (needed for employment)
- Kitchen items such as plates, cups, silverware, pots and pans
- Umbrella
- First-aid items, prescriptions
- Power strip (fused surge protector w/reset button/circuit breaker only)
- Mini tool set
- Stackable crates (for storage in room)
- Address book, stationery and postage stamps
- School supplies and backpack
- Small appliances: toasters, toaster ovens, etc... (not microwave)

Remember, these are only suggested items, you may not need all of them, but we suggest you to bring them. There also may be other items that you'll want to bring that are not on this list... the key is to plan ahead. You'll be given your future roomates' contact information to coordinate things like small appliances and kitchen ware.

Be sure to check back on the blog for more helpful information as we get closer to move-in day!

On Saturday, Wolverine Crossing held a training for our Community Ambassadors. After spending some time getting to know each other better, we spent some time covering several topics that will be helpful in our jobs within the community during the coming year. Some of those topics included office procedures, policy enforcement, student development theory and program planning. Our faculty-in-residence, Dr. Smit, spent some time with us sharing his wisdom. We also decided to take a staff picture to include in the Move-In-Guide that we're working on. Check us out below (we're just missing our lovely Jessica)!

A Fresh New Look

With our change in management last April, recent name change in February, new group of community ambassadors, and a new fresh group of students, we felt it necessary to update our website.

This is what it looked like before:





We wanted our new site to be updated in design, speak more to the overall lifestyle of the community, and highlight resident living. We did a photoshoot in-house with residents and employees, and have been working for the last two months on design and content.

This is the result:





The site includes information on our rates, floorplans and community, as well as helpful links for students: information on local hospitals, tutoring services, financial aid services, employment services and much more.

We hope that the site will serve as:

1.) A good face for our community and
2.) A resource for our residents and their families.

The site can be viewed at www.wolverinecrossing.com.

Waking up to a beat...

Friday morning, July 3, 2009, many of our resident woke up to drumming in the parking lot. Wondering what it was, our management staff quickly ran outside to look. Marching and dancing through the parking lot was "The Voice of Africa".

The Voice of Africa (VOACA for short), is an organization which stands as an advocate for African culture through dance, music and song. VOACA strives to provide educational opportunities for its members by granting scholarships that are funded by donations and fund raising events. They have performed at campus events at both BYU and UVU as well as community events and fundraisers.

The members of The Voice of Africa were practicing for the 4th of July Parade in which they marched the next day. We were pleased, and rather refreshed to see such a great display of culture and passion on our property. Among the members of the group were some of our current residents.

The VOACA is currently applying for a grant with the "Nike Back Your Block" program for additional funding for their organization. If you're interested in getting involved, and/or learning more, visit their website at www.thevoaca.com.

To The Voice of Africa and its members...thanks for stopping by.

Open Mic Night

What a wealth of talent we have here at Wolverine Crossing. On June 25 we hosted our second Wolverine Crossing Open Mic Night. The event was a great success; talented performers, awesome venue, great crowd, and a great time. Thanks goes out to Gray Aydelott and Ephraim Moore for taking the lead on planning the event, and to our other CAs for helping with publicity. A great thanks goes out to Wiseguys Comedy Club for opening their doors for us and being such awesome hosts! Most importantly, thanks to all the residents and guests for supporting the activity.