FVCC opens student housing

The newest addition to the Flathead Valley Community College campus is now open and will house around 120 students beginning Friday, Aug. 25.

Founders Hall, named for the college’s five founding members, is the realization of a dream for the college that celebrated its 50th anniversary this year.

One of those seven founding members, Bill McClaren, joined by FVCC President Jane Karas, held the honor of the ribbon cutting Wednesday evening as upcoming students, parents and other community members gathered to tour the new building before classes start on Aug. 28.

The building boasts 50 double-occupancy rooms and 24 single-occupancy rooms that are more like modern apartments than traditional college dorms.

Each room has either one or two separated bedrooms connected by a spacious living area and full kitchen, complete with a stove, refrigerator, sink and a bar to eat at.

Both single and double rooms have their own bathrooms with a standing shower, toilet and shelf space.

All 74 rooms have been filled, but FVCC Residence Life Director Kelly Murphy said applications are still being accepted for a waiting list.

Double rooms cost around $2,700 per semester and single studio apartments go for about $3,200 per semester.

That price includes all utilities including access to Wi-Fi, lounges, vending machines and any of the four laundry rooms throughout the building.

The building will be co-ed, but males will share rooms with males and females will share with females.

A student residential assistant will oversee each of the four halls and, as part of Murphy’s job, she will oversee the four RAs and the daily operations of the building.

According to Karas, the school began seriously exploring the option of on-campus housing about five years ago when faculty had an outside assessment done to determine the need for such an option.

“It really is a great opportunity for students to help make education more accessible,” Karas said.

She added that the addition of student housing will also cut down on the difficult task for students of finding affordable housing in the valley.

“We’re very excited and pleased that we’ll be able to offer this to the community, and it will benefit not just our students, but the entire valley.”

Incoming freshmen gathered outside the entrance of the dorm Wednesday and chatted as they awaited the next tour.

Heather Lyons, an aspiring art major was talking with her friend Ceanna Diller about their plans for moving into the dorms when Lyons met her soon-to-be roommate for the first time.

Lyons and Alyssa Nelson, another incoming freshman, will share a double-occupancy room on the ground floor of the building when they move in on Friday.

“The dorms are really nice,” Nelson told her new roommate.

Diller said she looks forward to being able to experiencing new things and meet new people as she begins her college career in Kalispell after moving from the small town of Troy, where she and Lyons graduated high school.

After finishing his own tour, incoming freshman Blake Young expressed his approval of the new student housing.

“I think it’s good for students to be able to be on campus and go to school,” he said. “It makes it easier for transportation, and you get more resources from the school when you’re actually here.”

Murphy joins the FVCC staff with 11 years of experience working in housing and residential life, and said she feels fortunate to be able to continue her work in a career she loves.

“I think residence life is such a unique opportunity for students, and it’s something that wasn’t an option before,” she said. “You have a group of students living in a space that are all going through similar experiences, whether it’s class or just transitioning to college or trying to figure out some of those first steps, and I get to be involved in that process of student engagement on campus.”

Though the building currently holds enough room for 124 students, Karas said, with the way it was built, there remains an open opportunity for future expansion should the need arise.

“We’re going to start with 124 beds and see how that goes, and we look forward to the opportunity to continue to meet the needs of our local community,” she added.