By Sara Angel

September 4, 2013

Dominican University’s residence halls received more than just new washing machines this summer with the addition of new Residence Hall Directors Michelle Schimick and Jenny Martinez.

Serving as the director of Power, Mazzuchelli and Aquinas Halls is Michelle Schimick, a native of Berwyn and Dominican alumna who served as a Resident Assistant during her senior year of college. Jenny Martinez, director of Coughlin and Murray Halls, is also a local woman who hails from Chicago.

Schimick received her B.A. in Early Childhood Education from Dominican in 2010 and later earned a M.Ed. in Educational Psychology and Human Relations from Northern Arizona University.

Aside from serving as a hall director, she currently teaches online psychology and business core classes through Anthem, an online university based in Arizona.

“I am very happy to be back in my hometown now,” Schimick said. “This summer has been full of transitions. My team has made this transition great, however. I couldn’t ask for a better staff of RAs or for better members of the Residence Life Leadership Team.”

Similar to Schimick’s experience transitioning to a new job, Martinez has felt nothing but warm welcomes from her staff.

“What has truly been the biggest blessing are the RA’s,” Martinez said. “The student leaders in Residence Life have been a complete joy to both learn from and live with.”

After receiving her bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Northern Illinois University and master’s in Higher Education Administration from Florida State University, Martinez worked directly with resident students in a series of internships. She also spent time on a Leadership Exchange trip to Jamaica.

Schimick and Martinez both said they love working with resident students and are often inspired by their energy.

“Being around students who are full of energy to live and learn encourage me every day to also live and learn,” Martinez said.

Schimick agreed, saying that every day offers exciting and new experiences.

“Working with college students in the capacity that I have been able to over the past two years has been incredibly rewarding,” she said. “Plus, there are always funny stories to tell, especially when my students or RAs teach me new words I ne