Abby Riewe, the Dormitory Director of the Cotter Residence Center for the past four years, is a small town St. Mary’s graduate, who has many plans for the dorms this year.

Abby grew up in Huntley, Minnesota, which is approximately 2 hours west of Winona, hosting a population of just a hundred. She has two older sisters, one who resides in Winona with her four children, and one back in Huntley, along with her parents. Abby, who came to Winona to attend St. Mary’s University, got her degree in Marketing and Management. After becoming an RA in 2008, she became the assistant director the next year, and then became the director in 2010.

Her favorite part about the dorm is the variety of students, and learning about where they are from, what they did, and where they’re going. A big challenge for her is how she has to live where she works, with her job taking care of the students never ending. She has many goals for dorm life this year, one of which is to help connect the local students with the residents. She wants the locals to feel comfortable coming to the dorms and hanging out, not necessarily needing a specific purpose to be here.

Because of that, a welcome crew was developed, which consisted of local students coming to do activities and welcome students to the Residence Center. The student council and Mr. Carpenter are also working to help integrate a lot of activities as well. Abby also mentions a few things to check out while here. There’s brand new furniture in the main lounge, and a new kitchen with new cupboards and appliances. The game room downstairs has been freshened up with paint and repairs, along with the cafeteria. There are also Advisor groups, meaning each RA is now assigned a small number of students to hear issues and to advise. Abby is excited for the new school year, and hopes that everyone else is too. She’s a big fan of exercise and sports, and she owns two rental properties, which she does projects and takes care of in her spare time.