Geneseo’s largest all-freshmen residence building Onondaga Hall has a diverse and extensive staff of resident assistants. With the start of the spring semester, Onondaga gained some new RAs, including sophomore Amanda McLean.
“Last year, all my RAs kept telling me that I should apply for the position, saying that I’d be good at it,” McLean said. “I feel like I’m easy to talk to and I understand what should and shouldn’t happen in a residence hall.”
McLean is an RA on the second floor of the north side of Daga. She explained that her and co-RA sophomore Ryan Kirrane have only known each other for five short weeks, but have formed a very close bond. “Ryan [Kirrane] and I get along really well,” she said. It’s actually kind of scary sometimes!”
McLean noted that she is not intimidated by the fact that she is only one year older than her residents. “Even though Ryan [Kirrane] and I are both sophomores on a floor of all freshmen, I feel like it makes us more relatable and approachable,” she said.
RAs are often some of the most involved students on campus and McLean is no exception. As a member of local Geneseo sorority Sisters Making a Change, McLean is a big supporter of Greek life.
“I love it,” she said. “I think everyone who’s interested should check it out. I knew I wanted to join a sorority when I got to school, but I think anyone’s who’s on the fence should give it a shot. People are always going to have something bad to say about every organization; you just keep to open up and have a different perspective if it’s something you think you might be interested in.”
McLean explained that her love of Greek life and Geneseo as a whole drove her to becoming a tour guide for prospective students. “I like getting to show people how much I love Geneseo and I want to encourage people to come and be a part of the community here,” she said.
According to McLean, many of her friends question how she is involved in an extraordinary amount of organizations. She explained that her response is also her mantra: “There’s no such thing as doing too much!”
In her free time, McLean emphasized that she loves reading The Lamron. “I’m interested in seeing what’s going on around campus,” she said. “I like getting to see names of people I’m friends with and people I have classes with writing these amazing articles.”
As an international relations major, McLean explained that she would like to combine her interest in sports and her studies in international relations to work for the Olympic committee in the future.
“I’m very passionate about sports, but I have no ability,” she said. “I think this would be a great way for me to channel my enthusiasm into a career.” McLean is no stranger to the sports world, as she is currently the co-producer of GSTV’s sports talk show, “Sportsblock” which airs Mondays at 5:30 p.m. She also serves as treasurer of the organization.
Class of 2017 students may know McLean as their president, as she is currently serving as for the second year in a row. “I run the list serve, so all of those emails you get are from me,” she said.
No matter what organization you’re involved in on campus, you’ve probably seen McLean around. And to think, she still has two more years left at Geneseo to do even more.