Greetings Panthers!

On an Urban Hike hosted by Focus Photography Club

Hello everybody! My name is Kenzie Hack, and I just wrapped up my First Year here at UWM! I just recently landed the job here at University Housing as a new Outreach Assistant. I'm working over the summer, especially during New Student Orientation (NSO). So incoming first year students, if you see me, don't be shy, say hi! It's been exciting for me to share my passion for UWM's campus with incoming first-year students and get them as pumped for college as I was when I came here.

I was born in Milwaukee, and in my childhood I grew up in suburbs that were Southwest of Milwaukee in Greendale. The rest of my adolescence I grew up near Waukesha, about an hour West of Milwaukee.

Behind the scenes of a shoot

After portfolio review during my sophomore year, I will be able to officially announce that I am a Photography major! I'm also going for a minor in Psychology. Before I came to college, my intended major was going to be psych. After I toured our campus here, I fell in love with the facilities Peck School of the Arts has to offer. My first year I was part of an LLC - Living Learning Community- at Cambridge Commons for Art & Design majors. This was one of the best experiences I had because of all the close friendships I made. I also joined and eventually became an Officer of UWM's Focus Photography club on campus. I recommend getting involved in any way you can! I was able to meet so many upper-year students through our club, and although saying goodbye to the seniors was hard, I'm always grateful I had a chance to make those connections.

Exploring the sights of downtown MKE

Getting involved has also given me an opportunity to be a professor's studio assistant, which has been a more than amazing experience. My professor now even has his work up in an exhibition at the Haggerty Museum of Art on Marquette's campus! Helping Mougel create the works was a hectic job, but well worth it after having seen the final product up on the wall. Be sure to check out the show before it closes on September 17th 2017. It includes the work of 5 emerging and established Milwaukee artists who all had
won the Mary L. Nohl award.

Photographs I've made during my first year of college

After my junior year in high school, I was able to take part in a German foreign exchange that traveled through Germany for a month long trip. I miss my host family every day, along with the lifelong friends I've made during that experience. One thing I'm proud of UWM for is having the Study Abroad program as part of our Center for International Education. Because of the CIE, I don't have to cease my travels.

Photographs I've made during my first year of college

Another thing I have got to be most proud of UWM for is our accepting LGBTQA+ campus. UWM has been ranked one of the nation's top campuses for LGBTQ+ students, and is currently rated 4.5 stars by Campus Pride as an LGBTQ+ friendly University. Not only is our LGBT+ Resource Center located in the Union a safe space, but now at our University you can apply for a Preferred name. Students can officially be recognized by their preferred name or name-in-use at UWM. University Housing also has Inclusive Housing, where accommodations offer a welcoming space for students who self-select and self-identify as gender non-conforming and students who identify as allies. On top of that, UWM recognizes that students may choose to identify themselves with a gender that differs from the Male/Female designation that appears on government documents, and students are able to submit a Student Gender Identity Request Form. There are also events that are going on in Milwaukee and on campus year-round, such as the LGBT Film Festival, UWM Annual Drag Show, and UWM Pride Discovery Camp.

Photographs I've made during my first year of college

And last but not least, my favorite thing about UW-Milwaukee is that there's always  stuff to do  - check out our Bucket List! So most importantly, have fun these couple of years! College is a fresh start and a new, exciting experience.

8 Things to Enjoy This Summer in Milwaukee

Most students go home during the summer between Freshman and Sophomore year. Because I love Milwaukee, and this job, I decided to stick around instead of going home like everyone else. Milwaukee has lots of fun things to do throughout the summer, so here are a few things I'll be doing during my time off! If you're in town for new student orientation or a campus tour, check some of these things out during your downtime.

1.) Summerfest
if you haven't heard of Summerfest, you're missing out! This huge festival has music from all genres. The tickets are fairly affordable, so I'll be going to a few different days. My favorites on the lineup are, A Day To Remember, DNCE, Bleachers, Jon Bellion, and PVIRS.

Brewers game with friehds

2.) Brewers Games 
Are you really a Wisconsinite if you don't love the Brewers? Living a 15 minute drive away from Miller Park is great, and the tickets are fairly cheap, so I'll be sure to see as many Brewers games as possible!

3.) Rooftop Dinners
Since Wisconsin only has a few fleeting months of warmth, I highly suggest taking advantage of the many outdoor dining spaces in Milwaukee. My personal favorite is Benelux, located in the Historic Third Ward. Saturday night dinner with a view of the city? I'll be there!

4.) Beaches
With to beaches nearby, you can catch me having a picnic with friends by the water fairly often. There's a Colectivo Coffee shop right across the street from Bradford Beach, so smoothies and sandy feet are to be expected all summer long. Lake life is the good life!

Beach day with freshman year roommates

5.) NEWaukee Night Market
NEWaukee is the epitome of Milwaukee culture. This is a free market with food, live music, art, and plenty more! This event happens four times throughout the summer, I'll catch at least one, you should too!

6.) Wisconsin State Fair
Confession: I've never been to the state fair. Sounds like a crime, right? Well this year that'll change! Since the state fair grounds are so close by, I'll definitely be going to so bands like For King & Country or Pentatonix!

7.) Mitchell Park Domes
Ever wonder what those three weird domes are when you're driving into the city? Turns out, they're the Mitchell Park Domes that hold some crazy plant life! It's a cheap date idea, entertain the parents idea, or just a fun outing with friends!

8.) Discovery World
Confession #2: I've never been to Discovery World. I hear so many good things about how much fun it is to explore the exhibits, so I have to go check it out myself! I'm sure it'll be a good adventure for a day off.

2017-2018 Room Assignments: Decoding Tips

Hello Panthers!

As our room assignments will start go ing live, we have some tips for you on how to access and understand the MyHousing screens that contain your assignment information.

Step 1: Log onto your my housing webpage. (www.uwm.edu/housing/myhousing) This uses your ePantherID and Password. Once you are logged in scroll towards the bottom of the page to see your assignment. This room is in blue as a hyper link that you can click on.

Step 2: Click on your room and another page will also pop up with your suitemates/roommates listed on the page as well. The person with the same letter at the end of their room assignment is your roommate. Everyone else is a suitemate.

If you are living in Cambridge Commons or Riverview you will see CC or RV as the letters. When you have a space in Sandburg your assignment will start with a letter that corresponds to a tower in the building. North- N, South- S, East-E, West-W.  In the example above, the assignment starts with an "E" so you'd be living in East Tower. 

The next two numbers are the floor you live on. In this case the assignment is E1520D so you'd be living in East Tower on the 15th floor. The third and fourth numbers refer to the suite number you would live in. In some cases the suites have different layouts so you would want to look and see your layout. Finally, the last letter would be the room in the suite. In this case the "D" room.

Step 3: See if you are in your LLC! Go back to your Home Page and now look for a link called LLC Information. Click there, and it will take you to a screen that tells you what, if any, your LLC selection was, and your current status.

Please remember to be patient when working with myhousing and the UWM Housing website. There will be a lot of web traffic and some possible delays. Also keep in mind that not everyone finds out their assignments in the first wave but be patient -- it's coming! We are working hard to get your assignment to you. As usual, feel free to call us with any comments or questions.