It Is the Honor of the NRHH and RHA Executive Boards of
Christopher Newport University to nominate:
Miss Tara Combs for VACURH’s “First Year Experience”
Award
“Blooming Into a Great Leader”
Table of Contents
Cover Letter
1
Student Essay
2
Resume
3
Letter from the Dean
4
Recommendation Letter from Advisor
5
Conclusion
6
Flowery Illustration
7
When we think of what makes a true first-year residential leader we often think of great
students who are dedicated and committed to improving residential satisfaction; bridging the gap
between a resident and their campus life; and one who seeks to make living on campus a fun and
exciting experience for all first-year students. These types of students are often committed to
leadership, academic excellence, and service. We here are Christopher Newport University are
proud to have Tara represent us as this type of residential student leader.
What makes her unique from every other student leader on campus is that she has taken the
initiative to begin her residential leadership from the first week she was a student here at CNU.
Tara has gone above and beyond to jump-start and maintain her Hall Council to be one of the
strongest on campus. She is committed to helping residents and even goes as far as to assist her
Resident Assistant in encouraging residents to attend on-campus activities. Tara is going even
further in her residential leadership training by attending her first VACURH conference. She is
excited about this opportunity and is eager to represent her school in this way.
In the following pages we will attempt to demonstrate Tara’s commitment to residence life.
Through this packet it is our hope that the VACURH state board will be able to see her enthusiasm
for students, her commitment to residential leadership, and her “blooming” leadership potential.
Tara is truly as asset to this campus and we hope that she will be someday be an asset to the
VACURH state board. She is a blossoming young leader and we are excited at the potential she
holds!
Tara Combs: Personal Statement
My involvement in hall council began with a truly selfish desire. As a freshman I felt lost,
disconnected, and uninvolved. I have never been one to accept undesirable circumstances as absolute
so I took action; I ran for hall council president. I reasoned that if there was nothing to do I
could complain, or I could create something. I pictured a year filled with holiday parties,
fundraisers, and slip n’ slides on the lawn. However, the reality was something much different,
something that has been far more fulfilling than anything I had planned.
When I became Potomac River’s hall council president, Potomac was a residence hall only
in its second year of existence. Mine would be the first active hall council the building had seen.
Very quickly it became obvious that not all of my visions would become realities. However, there is
one vision, my original vision, which I continue to pursue doggedly. This vision became a mission
as I left my building everyday. I would pass the same people, and I knew none of their stories,
few of their names. I would watch my classmates pass each other in the halls of our building,
silently. I began speaking to everyone and anyone in my building and one thing became painfully
clear: I wasn’t the only one who felt disconnected. It was then that I realized if anyone was in a
position to bring about change, it was me.
I chose an objective for the year that I thought would be most beneficial to both current and
future residents of Potomac River. From that original objective has stemmed holiday parties,
coffee house style events, and the resident suggested purchases. I chose to foster community. My
hope was that current residents would feel that this building was even more than a beautiful
residence hall; I hope I have made it their home, complete with a family. I also hoped to set the
precedent for future hall councils that people come first and Potomac’s hall council will not
compromise their priorities.
Although I became involved in hall council for myself, I have fallen in love with it because
of the people it affects. I understand what it feels like to be an outsider and I understand the fear
of joining and being rejected. All of this has put me in a position to lead in a very untraditional
manner. My hope for my remaining years at Christopher Newport University is to continue to be a
leader in the residence life program. I will always work, in whatever capacity I can, to bring in
those who feel they are on the outside. Many feel this is a time consuming and counterproductive
plan but it is my experience that students have so much to offer and such a need to offer it.
The things my hall council accomplished this year may not be considered by some as
miraculous. We went on a mission to seek out those who felt abandoned by their residence life
program. We gave them leadership roles, we made them hall representatives, and we made their
program ideas a reality. For me though, it is far more amazing than anything I had planned.
Tara Michelle Combs
Christopher Newport University
tara.combs.05@cnu.edu
Potomac River Hall Council President
-
Organized Hell-O-Fest: a building wide Halloween event for residents.
o Provided refreshments, Halloween candy, cider, and a caramel apple making
station
o Facilitated trick o’ treating for children of faculty and staff members
o Sponsored a costume contest and raffle
-
Co-sponsored Chris Cauley along with CAB and provided refreshments for the coffee
house style event
-
Brought revisions to Potomac River’s constitution
o Surveyed residents to get their views on the buildings’ policy on smoking 20 feet
from the entrance and took appropriate action
o Created the vice president of Potomac South in addition to the executive board’s
named vice president in an attempt to bring unity between the two buildings of
Potomac River
University Tour Guide
-
Giving tours to prospective students and answering any questions they might have about
the university or residential life
o Hosting overnight students and helping them to get a feel for campus life
o Special events such as open houses, President’s Leadership and Honors days,
and Minority Visit Day
-
Office work
o Filing, pulling, and organizing applications
o Answering phones and taking requests for tours, overnights, and special visit
days
Dean of Students Office
2006 VACURH National Communication Chairs:
Please accept this letter submitted on behalf of Tara Combs, CNU’s 2005-2006
Potomac Hall Council president. I hope this letter will serve both as an endorsement of
her outstanding qualities as an individual and as a recommendation for her
consideration as a recipient of this year’s VACURH “First Year Experience Of The Year”
award. Tara is a dedicated, talented, and highly motivated emerging young scholar and
residential student leader.
Tara has made the most of her first year residential experience by first seeking
out and then excelling in her position as a hall council president. Since her arrival in
August, she has frequently served as a role-model for other residential leaders. She is
widely recognized by her Potomac Hall residents, hall council members, and RHA
officer peers as a constant advocate for the significant student development benefits of
residential involvement.
Tara is a regular fixture at RHA meetings, campus events, and residence hall
activities. She is seemingly always seeking out additional opportunities for campus
involvement. She has facilitated several successful Potomac Hall programs and will be
attending the 2006 VACURH conference as just one of two freshmen in a fifteen
member CNU delegation. Whether, literally, going door-to-door to encourage fellow
Potomac Hall residents to engage meaningful educational programs or hosting scores
of students and CNU faculty/staff children at a Halloween social/dance, Tara can be
found at the epicenters of notable residence hall and greater campus events.
I believe Tara will continue to grow, evolve, and mature as a residential leader.
I know she will be a prominent asset to residential students, hall councils, and RHA for
many semesters to come. I highly recommend Tara Combs as the 2006 VACURH
“FYE Of The Year” award recipient.
Please contact me at eddleman@cnu.edu if I may be of any additional
assistance.
Regards,
Donna Eddleman,
Dean of Students
Office of Residence Life
Tami Park
1 University Place
Newport News, VA 23606
(757)534-9556
tpark@cnu.edu
January 24, 2006
Subject: Letter of Recommendation for Ms. Tara Combs
To Whom It May Concern:
I am pleased to write to you on behalf of Tara who has served as the President of my Hall
Council since August 2005. As the administrator of a 480-bed residence hall that houses a
majority of upper-class students, I was impressed that Tara, a freshman, took on the challenge of
leading my Hall Council. Since day one, Tara has impressed me with her willingness to go the
extra mile to ensure the success of the Council. With very little direction, Tara almost singlehandedly pulled off a huge and very successful Halloween Dance Party in the lobby of one of my
buildings and she is often the only member of the council to attend RHA meetings in order to
represent the voices of the students of Potomac River Hall.
Although Tara experienced some of the same transition pitfalls that most freshman students face,
she has become a strong and positive leader among her peers. She can often be seen on her hall
knocking on doors and encouraging her peers to come out to events in the hall and on campus.
Her Resident Assistant often relies on Tara to help get people to attend hall programs and to help
gain the support of her fellow residents in addressing community issues. Tara has also taken on
the job of representing the university to perspective students by working as a Tour Guide for the
Office of Admissions.
Overall, Tara is a positive, motivated, and conscientious student who has worked to successfully
balance her commitments to Residence Life, to her academics, and to her other extracurricular
activities in order to ensure her achievement in each. I am proud to recommend her to VACURH
as a candidate for the First Year Experience Award.
Sincerely,
Tamorah Park
Hall Director, Potomac River Hall
To be a good residential leader on campus it takes a strong dedication and commitment to
students. Tara has certainly demonstrated her commitment to residential leadership and increasing
residential student satisfaction on campus. She is a strong leader that is committed to residential
leadership. She wants to make sure that all first-year students are having a good residential
experience during their freshman year.
From her resume we can see that she is committed to hard work. All residential leaders
know that leading an event is time-consuming, often stressful, and it takes a lot of effort to pull it
off successfully. We see that in one semester alone Tara has either been directly involved or
assisted in leading an event. We here at CNU recognize that this is a honorable characteristic to
have and we are proud of her effort.
Tara is dedicated to promoting and supporting this University and this is evident in almost
all that she does. She is a tour guide and works in Admissions to promote and support Christopher
Newport University. Both of these jobs demand students that have a positive disposition towards
the University and are committed to finding ways to make it better. Therefore, it is with this
knowledge that we believe that she will be able to continue VACURH’s ultimate mission for every
residential campus, which is to increase student satisfaction in the residence halls.
Her level of personal development exceeds those of her peers. We believe that with her
potential, her leadership ability, and her commitment to excellence she will be able to someday
support VACURH in this manner. We are happy to nominate her for the VACURH “First Year
Experience” of the Year Award. We hope that you have been able to see the wonderful person and
leader that she is and you will honor both her and our campus with this award. Thank you.
This was one of the pictures that was taken of the lobby after decorating was concluded. Tara led
the efforts in getting this planned, organized, and initiated. She worked closely with other Hall
Council members, Resident Assistants, and the Hall Director to make this “haunted lobby” a
reality for the children coming in that day for Trick-or-Treating.
Another picture taken of the haunted lobby! Tara also planned to give out raffles for the “haunted
figurines” we see on display at the front desk. Residents who attended the haunted house and
engaged in the games were able to enter the raffle to win these fun figurines.
Tara (second from left) with Hall Council members and a Resident Assistant during the haunted
house event. Doesn’t it look scary??