By day, Sari Hernández guides teenagers through the English curriculum. By night, she’s just “Sari,” one of the go-to adult professionals for the college students living in Snell-Hitchcock Hall, a University of Chicago residence hall.
By bridging the two stages of growing up, Ms. Hernández is one of the few resident supervisors who work at Lab during the day and oversee the dorms at night.
Ms. Hernández and Tracy Aiden, a Lab nursery-kindergarten teacher, are among a small group of Lab educators who take on this double role. Balancing helping students at Lab during the day and supporting undergraduate college students who are experiencing living independently for the first time, these educators represent a rare continuity of care that links the two campuses together.
As residential heads, they live in the building year-round and help oversee the residence hall by assisting the resident assistants — student dorm supervisors — continuing fun traditions, planning weekly study breaks and being on call for when emergencies arise. Ms. Hernández, who is starting her third year as a residential head, oversees the Snell house located in Snell-Hitchcock Hall, just five blocks from Lab’s campus.
For Ms. Hernández, the biggest change of switching environments is in the way she sets her boundaries and her tone.
“With my high school students, […] while I want to be a welcoming and trusted adult, we can’t actually be friends. Not in a bad way, but I have to assess your work and make sure that there are still boundaries and respect and all of that,” Ms. Hernández said. “With the college students, because I’m not in that type of a position in assessing their work and giving them a grade, it is much more casual.”
Despite these differences, Ms. Hernández often sees the same determination and stress in both of her roles.
“Around the same time of the year, the stress runs high, midterms and finals,” Ms. Hernández said. “But the positive side of that is how dedicated and diligent and insightful students are in terms of the work that they’re doing.”
While seeing the determination behind her students’ work keeps her motivated, balancing both roles can also be exhausting.
“Sometimes it’s weird because it feels like I’m just always working,” Ms. Hernández said. “And while I love helping people and I love, like, being a guide and all of that, it is important for me to establish boundaries. It’s like a balance of, ‘Yes, I am here for you, but you can’t knock on my door for every little thing.’”
For Ms. Hernández and Ms. Aiden, the thread that ties their work together is care. The setting may change from desks to dorms, but the goal stays the same: helping students feel seen, supported and ready for what comes next.
