Dustin and Brittany Hamm welcomed Madison Jay on March 26.
The Northwestern Residence Life department recently welcomed a new addition to its family. At 10:46 p.m. on Wednesday, March 26, Resident Director of Colenbrander Hall Dustin Hamm and his wife, Brittany, were blessed with the arrival of Madison Jay Hamm. Madison Jay, or “MJ” for short, weighed in at eight pounds, six ounces and measured 22.5 inches long.
Madison Jay was a name Dustin and Brittany had already decided on a long time before she was born. Brittany loves the name Madison, Jay is Dustin’s middle name, and they like the nickname MJ, so they said it just made sense.
Dustin and Brittany have been parents for just over two weeks now, and they said that so far, things are going quite well. At this stage, parenting consists of dealing with dirty diapers, feedings and naps. This means there have been some changes to their schedules, which MJ has commandeered.
“We learned that whatever we needed to do or get done was no longer on our schedule but on hers,” Brittany said. “She usually takes a nap in the morning and afternoon, but that doesn’t always go the way it’s supposed to.”
When they aren’t changing her or feeding her, Dustin and Brittany have been enjoying the experience of bonding with their daughter and watching students begin to bond with her. Dustin said that watching some of his residents trying to hold MJ is also quite entertaining.
The Hamms are the first married couple with children to live in Coly in four years. Previous RD Ryan Anderson was neither married nor a parent.
“Having kids in the dorms is probably more normal than people think it is,” Brittany Hamm said.
Prior to former RD Ryan Anderson’s time at NW, most of NW’s RDs had spouses and children living in the building. However, returning residents of Coly remember the RD apartment being more of a lounge where they could spend time hanging out at odd hours.
“It’s just a big change in dynamics to the apartment,” Brittany said.
As of now, the Hamms said they have had a positive experience living in the dorm with a baby. They have been able to maintain their privacy and some of their sanity while at the same time balancing their responsibilities. Brittany is on maternity leave until the end of the school year. At the close of the semester, Dustin will take over watching the baby during the day.
Another factor that has contributed to the ease with which they transitioned into parenthood was the level of preparedness they brought into this school year.
Because they knew they wanted children and found out relatively early in the school year that they were going to have a daughter, they were able to come into the job knowing that they would be raising her in the dorm.
Although the Hamms knew what they were getting themselves into, there are always challenges that come with parenting, even more so that when parenting takes place in such a unique environment.
If anyone on campus has experience with the challenges that come with parenting on campus, its Kendall and Ashley Stanislav. Kendall is in his third year of serving as RD of the North Suites. He and Ashley have three children: Maddy who is five and a half, Drew who is three and Jack who will turn one on April 24.
Kendall and Ashley worked at Taylor University prior to coming to NW, and on Taylor’s campus, it was the rule — rather than the exception — for RD’s to be married with children. Stanislav said that getting a chance to see so many good models of families living on a campus was really helpful in establishing how they went about parenting.
The Stanislavs said that a few of the biggest problems come with issues of privacy and ill-timed disturbances. They said that since the front door of their apartment is right next to the dorm entrance, students have a tendency to walk through at inopportune times. They also said that poorly timed fire alarms are something to look out for. Mainly because when three children five and under are awakened at three a.m. by a shrill buzz, it’s hard to get them back to bed.
Even though these issues are inconvenient, both couples said that they are minor in comparison to the benefits of raising their families on campus and the opportunities that arise from living in a large, close-knit community.
Both Dustin and Brittany said that returning to a home that doubled as a public place was daunting, but they said they see the potential it has to offer so much more in the future.
“We’re really excited to have her in the dorm; she’ll have lots of playmates and lots of people who love and care for her,” Hamm said. Seeing her grow up and interact with so many different people is a unique experience she’ll have.”
