In This Issue

iPromise pgs. 2-3

Recipe Contests pg. 4

Employee Spotlight pg. 5

Director Appreciation pg. 5

Article: “Doctor...Who...For

What?” By Jeff Kirkpatrick pg. 6

Bookworms pg. 6

Physical Wellness pg. 7

Intellectual Wellness pg. 8

Mask Contest pg. 8

Article: “Preventing Wall Dam-

age…” By Erik Elordi pg. 9

COCM TV Club pg. 9

COCM Pumpkin Carving

Contest pg. 10

COCM Movie Club pg. 10

Around COCM pg. 11

To continue to excel as specialists in the management of student housing owned by non -profits.

Massachusetts College of Art and Design Paul Righi has accepted the position of Director of Facilities and Summer Conferences at Mass Art and began in August. Paul began his career working as a student in the Office of Housing at Boston University. After graduating, he continued to work there and moved his way up to the Assistant Director of Residence Services. After leaving BU, he became the Director of Building and Grounds at Chelsea Public Schools and, most recently, served as Director of Facilities Management at Bunker Hill Community College. We are excited to have him join the team!

The Daumier: Western University for Health Sciences. Eriberto “Kirk” Bernal has joined COCM as the new Director of Housing and Operations at The Daumier located in Pomona, California. Kirk was most recently an Area Director for the Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Inc. Kirk’s wealth of experience in student housing made him an excellent fit for COCM and Western University for Health Sciences.

University of Maryland – Baltimore Sarah Casares joined our COCM team in June. Sarah is the Assistant Director of Operations, focusing on licensing, student relations, marketing, and office management. Sarah worked at Indiana University for the past six years as a Residence Manager, Residential Programs and Services, and before that as an Assistant Director at the University of Arizona (Tucson). Sarah has also worked at Purdue University and Texas Tech University. Sarah and her family are adjusting to city life as they transition to living on property and her boys are gearing up to start school soon. Sarah hit the ground running in June as we traveled through move-out, short term summer housing, another move-out, turn, and now move-in. Sarah is already looking at processes in place with a new eye and working to make adjustments to better serve our residents!

With the addition of an Assistant Director position, Kerissa Hobstetter has transitioned into her new position as Assistant Director of Facilities. Her primary responsibilities will be with our maintenance department and working with the Director to determine and plan long term projects for the site. Kerissa took the lead with turn this year and helped to coordinate a very stress-free week with a new vendor! Congratulations on her new responsibilities!

WELCOME TO THE WORLD & COCM FAMILY! One of FAU's finest Maintenance Technicians, Schumann Servil, and his wife Marie welcomed a beautiful bundle of girl joy on May 31, 2017. Matthea Servil came in crying but has provided many smiles and happy moments since. Congratulations to the Servil family!

Staff Announcements

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University of South Florida – Tampa: Associate Vice President to COCM Staff (part of email)

“You are all AMAZING!!! Your effort throughout the week has ensured an environment that is safe, welcoming, and showcases

the best of how our communities are the best place to live, the best place to work, and the best place to learn. As a token of our

appreciation for the tremendous effort and sacrifice you all made to prepare for the storm, care for our residents, and begin the

recovery process, we invite you and three guests to the USF football game!”

Towson Place Apartments: Parent to Deanna Williams

“I wanted to give a shout out to Deanna Williams at Towson Place Apartments. We had an issue, and she took the extra step to

resolve it, in a timely, friendly, professional manner. She should be commended. We just thought someone should know of her

hard work and ability to manage under the duress of frustrated parents.”

Green River College: Summer Guest to Seth Grossman

“Thank you for being so great, and providing us with a safe, clean home for the summer!”

Green River College: Vendor about Fred Banlowe (Maintenance Director)

“It was a pleasure to work with you and your team. Fred was amazing and a huge help. Please thank him once again for us.”

Green River College: Parent to Staff (Chris Casey and Pete Morales)

“I would like to say thank you very much for your support. My son moved out of CCA today. He had stayed there for two years

and had a great time. I was always very comfortable because I knew the place he was staying and people around him were warm

and nice. I believe that the experience he had at Green River College and people he met there will be very special and valuable for

his future. He will move to Western Washington University this September and will challenge a new college life there. Thank

you very much again. Please say ‘Thank you’ to all staff in your office for me and my son.”

Massachusetts College of Art and Design: Staff to Staff

“I want to echo Danielle’s (campus partner) sentiment that all of you and your staff were hard working and contributed greatly to

the success of opening. Please relay my thanks to the staff and thank you all for everything you do every day for Capstone and

MassArt. It is your dedication and hard work that contributes to the success of the students.”

University of Maryland – Baltimore: Resident and Parents to UMB Housing Staff

“Thank you for making this the easiest move-in process me and my family have ever done! It went smoothly and everyone was so

helpful. It could not have gone better! Thank you again! It is much appreciated! (From a student who is the last of 8 kids her

parents did college move-ins with and was on our 1st move-in day where it poured the entire day!)”

University of Maryland – Baltimore : Colleague to Colleague

Shout-out to the UMB Housing Staff (Kerissa Hobstetter, Sarah Casares, Brown McCray, and Teddy Chapple) for one of the

smoothest turn weeks and move-in week that I have experienced (and I’ve been doing this a long time!). We had 2 staff who had

not gone through either of these processes before and one staff member who was new to her role in these processes. Turn was

relaxed, with a new vendor barreling through the units but maintaining the level of care in cleaning that we expected. We even

got to suspend work for 1 of our 9 days of turn and didn’t have to work the 2nd weekend because everything was done early! We

had to adjust how we did move-in because the great city of Baltimore decided to make the parking lane in front of our property

into a bus lane so we coordinated unloading times within our gated courtyard with new residents who wanted to take advantage

of that option. We received nothing but compliments from residents and their parents throughout the week and now we are in full

swing of classes starting and residents getting to know their neighbors and surroundings as they explore Baltimore!

Campus Partner to COCM (Tara, Jeremy, and Beau) at University of South Florida

“I want to sincerely thank everyone who has been on the ground (and in the buildings) to make this a reality. The partnership

with COCM, Capstone, Finfrock, and Clancy & Theys has been very positive. I would like to especially call out the leadership of

both Tara Wilkinson and Beau Howells in navigating final facilities logistics, coordinated efforts, and emergency response and

the transition from a construction site to an active residential community. Their knowledge and flexibility was instrumental in

our successful opening.”

iPromise

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Parent to Frostburg State University re: Debbie Daniels

"Debbie has been outstanding and very accommodating for me and my child. My son has Crohn's disease and I called

Debbie numerous times to make sure he had an appropriate roommate match. Debbie has provided great customer

service and we are very thankful for her patience and commitment to taking care of our specific needs."

City College of New York (Interim VP of Student Affairs) to COCM staff:

“Congratulations to you and your entire staff for a job well done on Sunday. You all (students and staff) worked like a

well-oiled machine, and it was evident by all of the compliments I heard. Parents were happy and felt that all went

smoothly. There were also returning students who talked about how much better move-in was this year as compared

to last year. What a way to look at how you do things and make it better each time. I thoroughly enjoyed spending the

day with you guys. Again, Congratulations!”

Florida Atlantic University Residence Life Coordinator to Michelle Smith

“We had early arrivals check-in today. Just a moment ago at the front desk were two parents asking to speak to me. I

came out to the desk ready to troubleshoot. I was surprised to find that their request to speak to me was to compliment

the cleanliness and maintenance of the community as being ‘exceedingly stellar’. Of course that compliment would not

be possible without your team’s continuous efforts.”

Green River College: Student to Pete Morales and other COCM staff

“I sincerely thank you for all of the great conversations with you and other members of the staff. All of you have been

so wonderful to me and really helped me make lifelong friends. This experience I am truly grateful for. I would have

loved to stay, but cannot due to several factors causing complications in some personal and financial matters. It was

clear that sorting these issues out was affecting my schoolwork and personal life. I have to take this time and make the

most of it – pay off student debts, debts to my mom, and many other immediate priorities. It pains me to have to move

out, but I truly am grateful in any case.”

Florida Atlantic University: Job Applicant to Staff (Joni Daminato and Greg Washburn)

“Joni and Greg were so fast. I sent my resume one day, I received a call the next, and an interview scheduled shortly

after.”

Florida Atlantic University: Residence Life Coordinator to COCM staff

“Thank you all deeply for the continuous hard work you all put in, especially during our community transition times.

Your team works tirelessly to ensure our facilities are ready for new community members, which allows my staff and I

to focus on the administrative and community social pieces. Your hard work and dedication is deeply appreciated.”

Frostburg State University: Student to Morgan Mayer, AD of Operations

“Thanks to you and your staff for your patience and professionalism in resolving our issue. This will be the third year

our children, Taylor, Amani, and Dominique, have been a part of Edgewood Commons. We appreciate all your efforts

in trying to keep these girls together and we understand your constraints. Dominique’s father and I appreciate the

great level of customer service that was provided to us as our daughter starts another year of college.”

Owner (MEDCO) about Jennifer Hornbuckle at University of Maryland

(This was sent after learning Jen was returning to COCM.) “Sometimes if we’re

really excited at MEDCO we’ll send this around. Welcome Back!”

University of Maryland: Thomas and Cheryl

“Just wanted to give a huge shout out and thank you to Thomas and Cheryl for being some of the best staff in the

building! They always had a smile on their faces, were fun to talk to, and were handy with any and every problem that

came up in our room. I'm going to miss them next year!! Keep smiling guys - thanks for a great 2 years! :)”

iPromise cont’d.

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Healthy Eats – Fall Edition Since the beginning of fall is typically a busier time for us in housing and residence life, I am starting to think of nice,

healthy recipes that will keep me warm and full. For example, one of my favorite healthy recipes is freshly baked

apples. The Physical Wellness Committee would love to include YOUR favorite recipe in the next edition of Healthy

Eats. If you would like to share your favorite snack, meal, or even drink for our next HEALTHY EATS edition,

please email it to Charbra Parkman (cparkman@cocm.com) by Sunday, October 15th. We can’t wait to see the

delicious recipes you share!

2017 COCM Cookbook & Recipe Contest Hey COCM chefs!

The Physical Wellness Committee has brought you the Stepping ‘Stone Challenge, Healthy Eats, Fitness BINGO,

and various exercises and videos to provide you some guidelines to live by. We received great feedback from last

year’s recipe contest, so we are bringing it to you again!

To enter, recipes must be submitted to jcantona@cocm.com by 11:59 a.m. (EST) on Friday, December 1, 2017.

All entries will be added to our COCM Cookbook. Recipe submissions may be for foods and beverages you enjoy

throughout the entire year.

Check out the judging categories:

1. Appetizers

2. Side Items

3. Kid’s Food

4. Main Courses

5. Desserts

6. Beverages

Here’s what you need to do to enter:

1. Identify the category in which you want to compete.

2. Submit the recipe in a Word document

a. This can be one you make on a regular basis.

b. This can be one you find online. (You must give the website credit.)

3. Submit a photo of the completed recipe.

a. You must cook the recipe.

b. You must submit a photo of the completed item.

c. You CANNOT submit a photo from online.

Here’s the fun part. We will have a contest to determine everyone’s favorite item from each category. Each category

will have one winner who will receive a $75.00 gift card. Once all recipes and photos are submitted, we will have some

random members of the COCM family vote on which recipe will receive each prize.

Remember: Submit your recipe and picture by 11:59 a.m. (EST) on Friday, December 1, 2017, to Joe Cantona,

jcantona@cocm.com. Voting will be held in December 2017.

The Capstone Physical Wellness Committee promotes achieving physical wellness by eating well, exercising,

avoiding harmful habits, getting enough sleep, recognizing signs of disease, getting regular physical exams,

and taking steps to prevent injury/illness.

Physical Wellness Committee Wants Your Recipes!

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COCM’s Director/GM Appreciation Day will be on Friday, October 27th.

Please share any photos from various appreciation days with either Heather Smith (walker137@marshall.edu) or

Debbie Daniels (ddaniels@cocm.com).

The Capstone Occupational Wellness Committee supports finding personal fulfillment and satisfaction from our jobs

or our chosen career fields while maintaining balance in our lives and positively impacting

the organization we work in and society as a whole through our careers.

Employee Spotlight: Stacey Laubis, BGSU

Appreciation Day Reminder!

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What happens when you get sick? You go see the doctor and miss work because of it. What happens if you are

overcome with anxiety, stress, or depression and cannot work?

A growing trend in our country is the acknowledgment that mental health is not a frivolous excuse to miss work.

Why is this form of illness only now becoming more accepted? I am unsure, but I know the stigma out there is that a

person with mental illness is not really sick and should just “suck it up” and go to work. This is the frame of thinking

that is beginning to turn around.

Notice this article where a supervisor lauded an employee for her self-awareness to take a mental health day: http://

www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/07/11/mental-health-day-off_a_23024861/. I read this article on Facebook, and the

comments from readers showed how divisive this topic is. Many of the responses were, “I’d have fired her” and “She

wouldn’t work for me,” but there were also those on the other side advocating for mental health education and urging

people to understand they are real illnesses.

I am not asking you to change your opinion, but I would encourage you to reflect on the topic. Mental health is a hard

subject to discuss in general; it is personal to the person struggling with mental illness. I came across some interesting

videos of 10 real people who have struggled with mental illness at work and how they tried to “work through it.” The

videos are not long, so I would recommend listening to their stories: http://www.workplacestrategiesformentalhealth.

com/wti/HomePage.aspx.

I am not a therapist, doctor, or expert in this field in any way. These are not suggestions on how to combat mental

illness.

Next Book: Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

“From Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff comes the first book in an epic series that

bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension.

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d

have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s

little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining

down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are

forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is

mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and

nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data

to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend

she swore she’d never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps,

files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives

interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.” (Summary courtesy of Amazon.com)

Interested in joining the book club? Contact Kelly Podach Francis (kfrancis@cocm.com)

by Friday, October 6th.

The Capstone Intellectual Wellness Committee encourages creative and stimulating mental activity –

getting the most out of classes and education by asking questions, being open to new ideas,

sustaining a growth mind-set, and learning new skills.

Doctor…Who…for What? Jeff Kirkpatrick, East Stroudsburg University

Bookworms Book Club

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Physical Wellness Updates

Get Active at Your Desk!

If you burn at least 150 extra calories per day, you significantly reduce

your risk of developing heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes,

colon cancer, anxiety and depression.

Fitness Bingo Update

Thanks to everyone who participated. Congratulations to Giovanny Ramirez, Brittany Ward, and Joe Cantona

for being overall winners. Look for our next installment of BINGO in 2018!

2018 COCM Stepping ‘Stone Challenge

We are feverishly planning the next edition of the Stepping ‘Stone Challenge.

Be on the lookout during the winter for information. The next challenge will be in April 2018.

Good Luck Cards

Don’t forget to let the Physical Wellness Committee know if you or someone else in the company is going to or has

participated in some sort of race, dance competition, or other physical challenge. We want to recognize them

for their participation. Please send submissions to Joe Cantona, jcantona@cocm.com.

Wellness Success Story

If you have a success story (in any area of wellness, not just physical) that you would like to share,

please send it to Joe Cantona, jcantona@cocm.com.

The Capstone Physical Wellness Committee promotes achieving physical wellness by eating well, exercising,

avoiding harmful habits, getting enough sleep, recognizing signs of disease, getting regular physical exams,

and taking steps to prevent injury/illness.

Reach Over Head

7:21-7:57 (Time Stamp)

https://youtu.be/LAeZZbpi8Ow?t=7m21s

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Reading Challenge For Summer/Fall

The challenge began July 15th and ends on October 30th. It’s not too late to join us!! If you need the categories and

points, contact Karen Partridge (partridgek@marshall.edu). There are awesome prizes up for grabs, and some really

interesting categories!! The best part is getting to read. Joining is simple: just send Karen your name and the titles of

any books you’ve read since July 15th to be added to the group. There is still loads of time left, and we’d love to see

some new folks participating!

Once you’ve joined, please send titles, categories and points earned to Karen Partridge (partridgek@marshall.edu)

Intellectual Activity Boxes It’s time for the second round of Intellectual Wellness Activity boxes. The Intellectual Wellness Committee would like

to continue challenging everyone to think more creatively and stimulate your brains. We all deal with stress at work

and most of us are just winding down from fall move-in. In the coming weeks, 12 sites will be receiving boxes. A few of

the items are different based on feedback we received from our previous batch. We are hoping that these boxes take a

little bit of stress out of your day and add a smile instead. Please check below to see if your site made the list, and if so,

DON’T FORGET TO PARTICIPATE IN OUR MASK MAKING CONTEST! (see ad below)

BOW – CMRC FAY – Fayette Square

CGU – Claremont Collegiate ICC - Wood View Commons

COCM – Home Office JHU - Nine East 33rd

CSM – University Village Apartments SCC – South Campus Commons

CTEA – Campus Town USF – The Village

CWR – Triangle Towers UWP – Roundtree Commons

Intellectual Wellness Updates

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It is amazing all the creative ways our residents decorate their rooms for the year. Being able to set up and decorate their rooms is

an important way students make their room for the year feel like their home. I know a lot of communities restrict how residents

hang items on their walls. Damage from nails, tacks, and tape can result in costly repairs for the resident and needlessly take up

much needed time from our maintenance staff when they are their busiest. Cornish Commons was opened in the fall of 2015 and,

in hopes of protecting our band new walls, only allowed residents to hang items on their walls using Command strips. We

thought we were setting ourselves up for a smooth turn at the end of our first year. Unfortunately, we were very wrong.

The walls at every community are going to be different based on the paint, drywall, and age. In our first year, we found that

Command strips were pulling off the paint and paper layer of the drywall. At first, we thought we had bad paint. We had our

contractors on site and did testing on the paint to ensure the correct amount of paint had been applied. All the tests showed that

our paint was fine. After doing some other tests ourselves, we found what was really causing our problem: improperly removed

Command strips. While it might seem intuitive to you and me, Command strips still have the potential for user error. If students

haven’t used them before, it is very easy to remove them incorrectly. To help our students avoid additional damage costs, and to

help our staff during a very busy time of year, we created a page on our website and a YouTube video on how to properly remove

a Command strip. You can view the video, along with step by step instruction, on our website: https://www.cornishcommons.

org/current-residents/maintenance/. Additionally, you can view the video directly on YouTube: https://youtu.be/yUpcmwf

MlBY. We also offer to have our maintenance staff remove Command strips, for a small fee, for those that are unsure of how to do

it properly. By creating the website and video and offering the option to have the Command strips removed by our staff, we

significantly reduced the amount of damage to our walls between our first and second years. This saved our residents a great deal

of money in damage billing and made the maintenance turns for our staff a lot easier.

As students at your sites prepare to change rooms or move out, please feel free to share these helpful tips and the YouTube video

on your website or with your residents.

The COCM TV Club will now meet every month on the third Tuesday from 2-3 pm. Here is the lineup of shows we

will discuss:

October 17: This is Us

November 21: American Horror Story

December 19: The Confession Tapes

Remember, we may discuss any episodes, so be prepared for spoilers! We will send a Skype invitation out at the

beginning of each month with the meeting request.

Preventing Wall Damage from Command Strips by Erik Elordi, Cornish Commons

COCM TV Club

Brought to you by the Social Wellness Committee

Social Wellness is having a supportive social network, contributing to society, valuing

cultural diversity and having positive interactions with those around you.

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Life Tips from the Intellectual Wellness Committee

Calling All Writers!

Interested in contributing to the newsletter? Have a great story to tell? Want to praise your staff ?

Share fun photos of your site? Email Tara Wilkinson (twilkinson@cocm.com) by the 15th of the

month for your information to be featured in the COCM Newsletter!

Right: Meeting resident needs-

Campus Corner Apartments

installed new laundry equipment

and this resident was psyched!

Left: ESU Sycamore Suites

ribbon cutting in August

Around COCM

Left: Florida Always Underwater: Another day in Paradise…to enjoy

paradise, ya gotta have the rain and rain and more rain. Look at the many

feelings during our torrential downpours: Custodians Edwin Nunez (waving

with a smile), Robins Charles (“just give me a garbage bag and let’s go”), Jose

Garcia (sticking his tongue out) and Davidson Metayer (ignoring it and

checking work orders). If you look closely, they all have webbed hands and

gills – we have had a lot of rain in very short periods of time this summer. It

slows us down, but it won’t stop us! Friendly And Upbeat