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Summer living at Rez

Students currently living in residence may be examining the possibilities before them: move home over the summer or stay in res.

Melissa Gervais, a community assistant (CA) in The Tower, says many students are renewing their leases over the summer.

But for those students who are considering staying, expect a bit of a shuffle. Students will have to move into a different room with a summer roommate. “For the summer you can room girls and guys together,” Gervais said.

Nina Hornjatkevyc, educational counsellor in Student Development and Counselling Services, says financial ramifications are a key deciding factor in what makes a student stay or go.

A job or practicum often draws students home over the summer months.

Mike McKinna, a first-year student of the petroleum technologies course is returning to his hometown Saskatchewan for the summer. McKinna will be working as a rough neck on the oil rigs and is yet undecided about returning to SAIT residence to live next year, “in case a better option comes up.”

For some students, moving home over the summer may in fact end up being a more costly venture. In the case of international students, the price of travelling overseas to their homes may not be a feasible venture, Hornjatkevyc said.

However, living rent-free with family members from the months of May to August is an attractive option, she said.

Tower resident Samantha Terry is a fourth-year student in the drawing program at ACAD. Terry will be returning to the U.S. to live with her family over the summer months. Terry has a summer job lined up in Philadelphia.

It is “cheaper and I get to see my family and friends,” Terry said.

For students not sure of what to do during the summer, counselling services are available for advice pertaining to individual financial circumstances.

“We will talk about different resources like a run down of budget, or individual budget circumstances,” Hornjatkevyc said.

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