Everything Ashdown does, from stocking the inventory to planning dance parties to keeping the pianos in tune, is powered by our Officers – residents who volunteer their time to help out the dorm. While the different positions have varied responsibilities, all of them are important in keeping the residence running smoothly. Officers are grouped into 5 committees:
Brunch Committee
Coffee Hour Committee
Communities Committee
Events Committee
Operations Committee
Officer terms consist of fall, spring, and summer. New officers are hired at the start of each term, but typically there is a larger hiring cycle in the spring. There is no mandatory service duration, but typically officers serve 6 terms (2 years) in order to accrue “continuing status” which grants them guaranteed accommodation in Ashdown House. They are also guaranteed accommodation in Ashdown during their service. Additionally, officers are rewarded with up to 3 seniority points per term, which gives them a large advantage in the in-house lottery for room selection. Even with these perks, officers tend to serve merely because they want a more active role in the MIT Ashdown community!
Below is the listing of current officer positions. If you are interested in serving as an Ashdown officer in any of these roles, or if you wish to suggest a new officer position, please contact ahec@mit.edu.
Brunch Committee
Brunch CommitteeContact: ashdown-brunch@mit.edu
The Brunch Committee organizes brunches on select Sunday mornings in Ashdown’s Hulsizer Room approximately once per month. See here for more information.
The Coffee Hour Committee organizes Ashdown’s weekly coffee hour every Thursday night. This long-standing tradition provides residents with a great setting to relax and socialize while enjoying snacks and coffee. See here for more information.
The Cherry Pie Society Officer runs and coordinates Ashdown’s intellectual discussion group, the Cherry Pie Society. See here for more information.
ashdown-cherry@mit.edu
Athletics/Physical Wellness Officer: Emily Zhang
The Athletics/Physical Wellness Officer coordinates athletics-related events in Ashdown, and serves as a liaison for other athletics-related events on campus. Tasks include coordinating Ashdown intramural sports teams and organizing outings (basketball, hockey games, snowball fights, skating, etc).
ashdown-athletics@mit.edu
Mental Wellness Officer: Zhengqi Gao
The Mental Wellness Officer promotes the mental health of Ashdown residents through organizing opportunities for de-stressing and bringing in mental health resources from MIT and the Greater Boston Area.
1st Floor Officer: Alexandra Henzinger
2nd Floor Officer: Sam Figueroa
3rd Floor Officer: Marco Graffiedi
4th Floor Officer: Yu Xie
5th Floor Officer: Ted Pyne
Floor Officers: They serve as residential assistants and are responsible for encouraging interaction among residents and organizing floor events, overseeing the floor common areas and the use of floor bulletin boards, and voicing floor concerns to AHEC.
ashdown-officers-floor@mit.edu
Arts Officer: Ruofei Jia
The Arts Officer holds events to connect Ashdown residents who are interested in events focused on art, music, theatre, and more. These events vary from museum trips to organized events to MIT performances. They maintain a collection of artwork around Ashdown (both inside the House and in the courtyards). They are an art enthusiast looking to provide an opportunity to Ashdown residents to explore their artistic interests.
ashdown-arts@mit.edu
Outing Officer: Kimberly Zhang
Community Service Officer: Jeremy Kline
The Community Service Officer is responsible for running and coordinating Ashdown volunteer events. They will act as a liaison between groups requiring volunteers and Ashdown residents.
ashdown-community-service@mit.edu
Events Committee
Events CommitteeContact: ashdown-events@mit.edu
The Events Committee plans and runs large and small events at Ashdown, either for Ashdown residents or the entire MIT graduate community. They plan orientation activities, social events, outings, culturally-themed events, and other Ashdown traditions.
Chair: Akhilan Boopathy
Officer: Amanda Hornick
Officer: Varsha Vaidyanath
Officer: Regina Lee
Officer: Lisa Lin
Officer: Rachel Sun
Officer: Ian Sabula
Officer: Ashkan Soleymani
Officer: Alexander Bevacqua
Officer: Dousabel May Yi Tay
Operations Committee
Operations CommitteeContact: ashdown-ops@mit.edu
Chair of Publicity and Communications: Anup Sreekumar
The Publicity Chair is the point of contact for other Ashdown officers and other dorm officers to request posters, etc. The Chair is in charge of delegating tasks within the Publicity team and compiling external events for the Ashdown Anno.
ashdown-publicity-chair@mit.edu
Publicity: Menna Hussein
Publicity: Jeonghyun Yoon
Publicity Officers collect and publicize information about Ashdown, MIT, and off-campus events. Officers organize publicity campaigns for Ashdown events, including creating posters, printing them, and putting them up around campus.
ashdown-publicity@mit.edu
Photographer / Publicity: Zhen Zhang
The Photographer documents residential life, takes pictures at events, and records Ashdown history. Photos can be found on the Ashdown House Facebook Page.
ashdown-photo@mit.edu
Communications: Yun-Sheng Chang
Communications: Yiming Zhang
Communications: Bill Liu
Communications: Hyein Na
Communications Officers record and disseminate information in Ashdown, including taking meeting minutes at the AHEC weekly meetings. The Communications Officers also manage the 3AM newsletter, and welcome/orientation newsletters as needed.
ashdown-comms@mit.edu
Chair of Tech and Inventory: Shomik Verma
Tech/Web Master: Maisy Lam & Mingran Yang
Tech: Maitreyi Ashok
Tech: Darryl Ho
Technology Officers maintain and improve the Ashdown website and computing facilities. Tech Officers assist with the hallway displays throughout the building as well as other AV systems in the common areas.
ashdown-tech@mit.edu
Inventory: Isabel Naranjo De Candido
Inventory: Michael Durso
Inventory: Megha Tippur
Inventory: Noah Bagazinski
Inventory Officers maintain and track the status of resident facilities within Ashdown House including the front desk/mailroom, courtyards, lobby, laundry room, kitchens, AHEC storage closet, and gym equipment.
