Student Housing & Residential Life (SHRL) at University of Houston (UH) fosters a community that nurtures academic success, student growth and development and diversity. Seizing the opportunity to better support residents in their holistic development, SHRL recently hired Kelsey Reynolds (’17) to serve as its first assistant director for Student Success and Wellbeing.

Wellbeing is defined by Merriam-Webster Dictionary as “the state of being, happy, healthy, or prosperous.” Reynolds is no stranger to helping young adults achieve wellbeing. Prior to stepping into this role, they worked as a clinical social worker providing hands-on treatment to clients while teaching them self-advocacy support strategies.

A graduate of UH and Southeastern Louisiana University, Reynolds is excited to return to the UH campus where they can work to equip students with tools for balancing their academics workloads, prioritizing mental health, and developing independent-living skills.

“I am really proud of the UH for creating this role and giving me the opportunity to make an impact on the residents I am able to work with,” Reynolds said.

Reynolds is not alone in the charge to provide wrap-around support to residents. By the end of the academic year, they plan to manage a team of four Residence Life Coordinators (RLCs) who will also have experience in social support.

“We currently have one RLC, Chris Douglas, in the Quad Residence, but the team will be expanding soon with additional staff joining us in January,” said Reynolds. “It takes a village, and I am excited to be play a role in the village we have at UH.”

Reynolds plans to provide dynamic programming for residents by pairing upper-class students and first-year students together to form mentoring relationships. Additional programs aimed at assisting students in developing their interpersonal skills, self-awareness and personal identity to build emotionally intelligent leaders are also in the works.

Please join SHRL staff in welcoming Reynolds to this new role!