5 Reasons I LOVE my Dorm

Sometime around mid-June before incoming students’ first term at Carleton, an infamous Roommate Preference Questionnaire hits all eager freshmen’s inboxes. As a curious (or maybe obsessive is a better word for it) fresh high school graduate, I’d spent HOURS scouring Carleton’s Office of Residential Life and Housing page trying to picture what my housing situation would look like for the next year of my life.

Freshmen are placed in one of seven dorms: Burton, Cassat, Goodhue, Musser, Myers, Nourse, or Watson (Defne wrote a great blog ranking first-year dorms that I’d suggest reading if you’re unfamiliar with them!) After a month of maddening suspense, reslife finally revealed my dorm assignment; I was officially a resident of Goodhue Hall! 

Generally, the consensus among students seems to be that Goodhue is a tough housing assignment because it’s far away and requires a trek across the lakes that can be a pain during the winter months. However, I have to disagree.

Goodhue is a frequently slept-on hidden gem, and now that I’ve lived there for almost two terms, I will valiantly defend it until the very end. I love my dorm for so many reasons, but I’ve boiled it down to five to share.

#1: Proximity to the Rec and Arb

Goodhue being the farthest dorm from the center of campus (which really isn’t that far, by the way; it’s only 5ish minutes) means that it’s the closest to some of Carleton’s cool edge-of-campus features like the Rec and the Arb.

As someone who loves being active and hitting the gym when I get the chance, there is arguably no better excuse than the fact that the Rec center is right outside my backdoor. If you’re looking for something to motivate you to spend a little more time working out, Goodhue definitely makes this the easiest of all the dorms!

Even if you’re not a big gym-goer, the Rec also has quite a few other features including a super fun climbing gym that I’ve found myself visiting surprisingly often. I highly recommend reading George’s blog about getting into climbing!

Being close to the Arb also means that I take a lot of nice walks through the woods. It’s a great way to decompress and take some time for myself. As a self-proclaimed outdoorsyperson, being in the Arb feeds my soul. I love exploring the paths by the river and putting up my hammock to read out there! 

#2: Single. Person. Bathrooms.

Goodhue differs from many of the other freshman dorms because it has single-person bathrooms (say hello to some much-appreciated privacy!). Each bathroom has one stall and two showers, but people only really ever use one shower at a time.

This means that only one person is ever in the bathroom, so you get the space all to yourself. This may seem like a small thing, but it makes a huge difference. For a disorganized person like me, it’s a godsend; I get to leave all my miscellaneous shower supplies around the bathroom while I’m there without disturbing anyone else with my mess! 

#3: A Pretty View

Living just across the Lyman Lakes means that I get to walk past a pretty waterfront scene every morning when I go to class. I’m definitely NOT a morning person, make no mistake, but my day starts off a little bit better when I have nice scenery to wake me up. If I’m lucky, sometimes I even get to catch a glimpse of some otters taking a dip in the lakes! Every Goodhue resident I know has a camera roll full of lake-front sunsets, too (seriously; I have a whole folder of these, and I’m pretty sure it’s the culprit for my phone currently being out of storage). Here are a few of my favorite photos from my walk to and from class:

When leaves start to change in the fall, I can confidently say there’s no more aesthetically pleasing spot on all of Carleton’s campus. Living in Goodhue is the most surefire way to make everyone you know jealous with gorgeous photos of Minnesota nature. 

#4: The Superlounge

The Superlounge is a massive recreational space tacked onto the end of Goodhue. It’s furnished with many comfy couches, big round tables with lots of chairs, an impressive tv, some ping pong tables, and a couple of vending machines.

The Superlounge is super versatile, making it the ultimate hangout spot; the nice open space and big windows make it inviting at any time of day or night. Goodhue residents basically have the biggest living room on campus! Residents from other buildings also come here to watch sports/play videogames on the tv or play some ping pong. It’s a great convenient spot to spend free time with some friends, regardless of what you’re doing.

#5: The Goodhue Community!

I’m not sure what it is about Goodhue that does such a good job promoting friendship between its residents, but the Goodhue community is unmatched. This is my absolute favorite part of my dorm. As corny as that sounds, the people that come with it are truly responsible for making it a great place to live.

Being a little farther from other buildings means that a lot of Goodhue freshmen spend time in floor lounges or the superlounge, so they’re almost guaranteed to become friends with the amount of time they’re together. Because of this, my closest friends at Carleton also happen to be my neighbors. I love being able to walk down the hall and knock on my friends’ doors to ask about going to dinner or if they want to head to a floor lounge to hang out and study. From what I’ve heard, this is true for most freshmen in the building.

Whether it’s bonding over hallway antics or impromptu floor lounge jam sessions, the Goodhue community really is unique, and there’s never a dull moment. It seems like we’re the tightest dorm on campus (sorry not sorry to everyone else)!

So, there you have it—with its picturesque location across the lakes and tight-knit community, Goodhue is a place I’m proud to call my home. I’m seriously considering spending my sophomore year living there too! From proximity to amenities like the Rec and Arb to breathtaking views and close friendships, every aspect of Goodhue cultivates an amazing first-year experience. The epic camaraderie among residents has made adjusting to college life much easier and way more fun than I anticipated.

If you’re an incoming student reading this who ends up placed in Goodhue like I was, prepare for great dorm life during your first year at Carleton. This place really has a knack for bringing people together. Thanks for the mems, Goodhue, and I look forward to even more during my spring term!

Leksi (she/her) is a first-year Carleton student from Colorado Springs, Colorado and a prospective pre-law Psychology or Cognitive Science major. So far, she could not be happier with her college decision! Northfield and Carleton have done an amazing job providing Leksi with the only five things she needs to thrive: local coffee, music, wilderness, the gym, ice hockey, and (of course!) her friends. She is involved in club ice hockey and the Carleton Association of Nature and Outdoor Enthusiasts (CANOE). If you’re unsure where to find Leksi on campus, your best bet is the group tables on Fourth Libe or hopelessly lost somewhere deep in the arb. Meet the Other Bloggers!