Becky (Biroschik) Leibach '95 and an alumni friend stood outside the locked doors of Davis Hall during Homecoming Weekend 2015, waiting for a look inside.
They got the chance, and a tour of a room, after they explained to a resident student that they, too, once lived in Davis Hall, where common bonds transcend generations and last lifetimes.
Davis is where Leibach made lifelong friends, hid in a closet with her roommate to avoid a winter fire drill, and gathered late into the night with friends. Walking back to Davis after class, she'd hear her roommate's blaring music escaping through their open window, filling the quad. And Davis Hall is where she chose to live, again, her junior year.
"Residence life is fun," she said. "And Davis is a special place."
The tie she feels is shared by countless students who have lived in Davis since it was built in 1922. Through the years, it has housed male and female students-today it houses only women-and undergone numerous updates, although some things never change.
Davis has no elevator, no air conditioning, and a radiator heating system that blasts through the winter. But modern conveniences-readily available in any of the eight other new or newly remodeled residence halls on campus-aren't entirely everything.
Students who've lived the Davis Hall experience remember it fondly, more often than not.
"We just loved the small coziness of Davis Hall," said Jena (Mowery) Hobbs '95, who made many close friends during the two years she lived there.
"I remember we would put quotes up on the bulletin board when someone said something funny. We would play cards a lot, and when the windows were open in the middle of winter, I threw a deck of cards to a friend sitting on top of the radiator and the deck went out the window down into the snow," she said.
"Yes, we had to walk across campus in the middle of winter from the cafeteria and our giant 44 ounces of Mountain Dew would freeze on the top, but it was a great place to start my life away from my little hometown," Hobbs said.
"Davis felt like what a college dorm should be," said Katelyn Seaba '13. She had a single room and didn't mind sharing a common bathroom down the hall. Her time in Davis was filled with friendships and floor activities, and little surprises, like finding her room door decorated by the RA.
The Charm of Davis Hall
Davis has no elevator, no air conditioning, and a radiator heating system that blasts through the winter. But modern conveniences-readily available in any of the eight other new or newly remodeled residence halls on campus-aren't entirely everything. Students who've lived the Davis Hall experience remember it fondly, more often than not.
Jayne (Lunz) Antonik '05 said living in an all-female dorm made her transition to college much easier. "I had so much fun."
Antonik said anytime she and her friends had plans, they would meet on the "stoop" of Davis. It was outside of Davis Hall, under the clock in the courtyard, where her husband, Ryan Antonik '05, proposed. "He knew how much I loved St. Ambrose, and I am still friends with a lot of girls I met there," she said.
The first room Jen (Eckermann) Maguire '03 shared in Davis was so small she could grab the TV remote off her friend's bed without getting out of her own bed. "We had a lot of little gatherings in that teeny, tiny room, and we had a lot of fun," she said.
So much so that she chose to live in Davis as a sophomore, too. "People were always trying to organize events in the building, a workout or TV watch parties in the basement. Everyone kept their doors open all the time, so you knew who lived in what room and it was very homey," she said.
Alicia (Levi) Giffin '05 said things turned out much differently than envisioned the day she learned she would be living in Davis her first year. "I thought, what am I in for? There is no air conditioning, no elevator," she said.
After a while, Giffin didn't mind the stairs or opening the window to cool off her room because she realized Davis Hall was special.
"Everyone who lived in the building was connected, and I don't believe that would've been the case in a larger residence hall. Whether it was a casual hello while walking across campus or finding someone to have a heart-to-heart conversation, we all knew each other," she said.
"I made lifelong friends in Davis, and their friendship made my college experience," Giffin said. "I remember crying when everyone left for summer break. I didn't want to leave."
–Dawn Neuses '94
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