I was ecstatic when I was accepted into the Fall 1985 class of Arts Administration students studying for MFA degrees in the School of the Arts. The only problem--no on campus housing available for students who live within 300 miles of campus!

In my first year, I was able to get an apartment through Hartley Hall's off-campus listings for one year. However, in my second year, I was forced to return the Hartley Hall's listings, and was coming up empty.

I was a regular attendee of Masses at St. Paul's Chapel, and the Catholic Chaplain at the time, Rev. Paul Dinter invited any graduate student interested in applying for housing at Ford Hall (named after the first Catholic Chaplain, Rev. George Barry Ford, who gave Columbia graduate Thomas Merton First Communion) on West 114th St. to see him and fill out an application.

Father Dinter accepted my application and for four years, Ford Hall was my home. I met some of the most fascinating fellow Columbians. A condition of residency was cooking for everyone once every three weeks, a weekly chore, and five to 10 hours of community service. I worked with Community Impact's programs (the Food Pantry, the Friday meal at Broadway Presbyterian, the men's shelter at St. John the Divine), while completing my coursework and thesis. I also learned never to leave one inch of orange juice in a container in the fridge, and the politics of meat vs. vegetarian cuisine...

I know there are other Columbians for whom Ford Hall was home and it would be nice to read how this great place has made a difference in your lives...

I now live far from New York City, but the values of trying to live my life for others, and with others, has never left me, and I just want to say, "Thanks Paul Dinter--and thank you Ford Hall."