Walk into Julia Randall’s room in Brumby Hall, and the calm hits before anything else. Soft creams and cool blues wash over the space. The blinds are pulled all the way up, not just for the light, but for the wide view of campus.
The gold accents running through the dorm are mature, in a space that could easily be juvenile. It’s a fitting touch for someone whose job is helping freshmen feel capable in their first year of independence.
Randall, a junior accounting and marketing double major from Roswell, Georgia, has lived in this building for three years, first as a freshman, now as its resident assistant. And she’s treated her room less like a personal retreat and more like an open invitation.
“I wanted it to be very inviting, especially in the case that I have a resident who is in a time of need,” she said. “And I like keeping it tidy for my personal health and well-being as well because I am a strong believer that your space is a reflection of your mindset.”
That philosophy shows up everywhere. In the back left corner sits a small, quiet prayer corner, with a garland of sacred heart images, a rosary hung deliberately on display, photos of friends and a favorite saint tucked nearby. It’s the one part of the room built entirely for herself, a place she returns to when the Catholic Center feels too far away.
Everywhere else, the room doubles as a conversation-starter. A framed poster from the Masters hangs above her bed beside a cowboy hat worn to every country concert she’s been to. Both, she said, function as icebreakers with residents who might otherwise feel like just another name on a door.
“It kind of helps break those barriers and allows for more natural conversation to flow, rather than like an RA-resident and more of like a friend-to-friend relationship,” Randall said.
Even her family history lives quietly in the space. A framed photo of her family reminds her of how her parents first met, as RAs themselves, in the same kind of dorm hallway, decades before Randall moved in.
“It’s very full circle,” she said, of following in their footsteps, in the same building her mother once lived in as a freshman.
She keeps the lighting deliberate, too. Randall uses warm lamps instead of harsh overheads, so the room feels calm no matter when someone knocks.
“I want it to be more of a tranquil space because you never know when somebody is going to come and need you or knock on your door,” she said.
It’s a room built on a balance. Randall has open door hours some days, closed door others, but she always wants her room to help freshmen feel welcome.
“It’s just so beautiful being able to see them truly take this dorm and turn it from a dorm into a home,” Randall said.
Emily Sternkopf is a third-year student majoring in journalism with a minor in law, jurisprudence and the state.
