The Contact Center will relocate to a new office downtown this summer from the basement of Kendall Hall to accommodate the college’s growth.
“The move was really necessitated by a shortage of space on campus,” Contact Center Director Mary Margeret Spiteri said.
The new Contact Center will open on Howell Street, about a 10-minute walk from campus.
According to Spiteri, the workspace will be a modern office with plenty of natural sunlight, something she said is lacking in the basement of Kendall.
“Over the years, one thing I’ve heard is that students are always looking for a way to bridge the gap between the college and community,” Spiteri said. “Having an office downtown will be a great way for students to bridge the gap themselves.”
The Contact Center announced the plan to move to student employees last week.
“I’m super excited about it,” contact center employee and sophomore Reilly Demara said. “The way they described it to us sounds really cool. It’s going to have big windows and they are designing it with Dean Dell, so I know it will be a beautiful space.”
Many students, however, say they are concerned about what will be a 20-minute round-trip walk to the new office.
“As nice as it would be to get a larger work area with more daylight, being that far from campus is going to be hard for a lot of people without transportation to and from campus,” sophomore Justin Doughty said.
To encourage students to continue working for the contact center after the move, the new office will have a dedicated study space. Spiteri said this will give students the opportunity to work and study in the same building, allowing them to stay productive after their shift is over or while they are waiting for a ride back to campus.
“I think this will be a positive for students who want real business work experience,” Spiteri said. “You already get that in the contact center dealing with callers and friends of the college, but having this seperate office will make it feel like you are getting even more of a business experience.”