First students move in at Molloy College

 For the first time in Molloy College’s 56-year history, students have a place to call home on its Rockville Centre campus.

According to Jacquie Rath, assistant director of public relations at the college, the residence hall has been eight years in the making, and last week students began moving into their rooms.

The hall, which can accommodate about 150 students, already has 107 occupants. Steve Ostendorff, director of residence life, said that the split between lower and upperclassmen living in the building is about 60-40, though he acknowledged that college officials had hoped for more juniors and seniors. Ostendorff added that the hall is still generating a lot of interest among students, and that more than 150 of them had visited it in a two-day span.

Because on-campus living is new to Molloy, Ostendorff said, college officials had visited other schools in an effort to determine what would work best at Molloy. The residence hall features six single bedrooms, two suites and several two-person rooms on every floor. The suites are designed for five or six students.

When it comes to security, students will need both key cards and pass codes to unlock their doors, and there will always be a student or security officer stationed in the lobby.

Ostendorff said that the application process for becoming one of six resident assistants was rigorous. “We reviewed and narrowed down 45 applications based on everything we knew about them,” he said. “After the second interviews, I personally called all the people who didn’t get a position.”

Elizabeth Boyce, a sophomore R.A. who is enrolled in Molloy’s nursing program, said she was excited about the unique opportunity to live on campus. “I lived in dorms at Hofstra for two years, and I wanted to get more involved at Molloy,” Boyce said. “I’d like to live on campus for the next three years, as long as Steve keeps me.”

Rath said that in addition to the residence hall, Molloy officials have also opened a public square that houses everything from a large theater for performances to study areas, a coffee bar and career services. “Rather than having to go all over campus, the public square is a central focus for students,” she said.

Comments about this story? AAxelson@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 282.