The Saint Rose Office of Residence Life Staff consists of both professional staff and student resident assistants (RAs) staff. Our professional staff include: a director, assistant director, area coordinators, an administrative secretary, and graduate assistant. The director has overall responsibility for the Office of Residence Life while each member of the professional staff has individual and specific tasks that assist in supporting the Residence Life Program. The director supervises other members of the professional staff. The assistant director is mainly responsible for all facilities and operational pieces within Residence Life.
The area coordinators supervise a staff of RAs and are on-call for crisis intervention on campus year-round (there is an area coordinator on-call at all times). They act as Saint Rose student conduct officers and serve on a variety of campus-wide committees as well as work on special projects for the Office of Residence Life.
Meet our Professional Staff
Eddie Cruz, Director of Residence Life
Eddie Cruz is a Brooklyn, NY native, first generation college student, and a Res Life for life professional. Eddie graduated from St. Lawrence University (SLU), majoring in Performance and Communication Arts and minoring in Sociology. He then went on to earn a Master of Education in Counseling and Development from SLU while serving as a Graduate Residence Hall Director at SUNY Potsdam. Eddie started his Residence Life journey as a resident assistant at SLU and has worked at various institutions serving in different capacities within Residence Life, to include serving as a Director of Residence Life at SUNY Farmingdale in Long Island, NY. Eddie enjoys sports, music, theater and spending time with friends and family. He is a devoted Student Affairs practitioner who acknowledges his students, embraces all walks of life and genuinely cares to foster a fun, safe, supportive and inclusive community for all students.
Tia Thompson, Assistant Director, Housing Operations
Tia graduated from St. Lawrence University in 2020 with a BA in Environmental Studies, Philosophy, and Business in the Liberal Arts. She joined the College of Saint Rose in November 2021. Tia grew up in a small town in the southern Adirondacks and enjoys hiking, snowboarding, SUPing, and pretty much anything that has to do with the outdoors! She is also a 200-hour certified yoga teacher. Tia’s favorite part about being at Saint Rose is working closely with the college’s RAs and is thankful to be able to work at a place she can consider a home away from home!
Aleecea Denton, Area Coordinator
Aleecea graduated from Onondaga Community College in May 2018 with an A.S. in Music and SUNY Fredonia in December 2021 with a B.A. in Music Education. During college, Aleecea was a Resident Assistant for 4 years and really enjoyed it, so she decided to become an Area Coordinator. Aleecea is passionate about diversity and inclusion, education, as well as helping students adjust to college and life after college. She is excited to be a part of the Residence Life team at Saint Rose!
Christopher Jaiyesimi, Area Coordinator
Christopher graduated from SUNY New Paltz in May 2022 with a B.A. in Biology and a minor in Psychology. Christopher is originally from Long Island, and enjoys playing sports such as soccer and basketball. Christopher is very passionate about creating an environment in which students can flourish both academically and socially, and consistently works hard towards that goal. Christopher is very happy to be in the Albany area, as it is another opportunity for him enact positive change. During his time at SUNY New Paltz, Christopher interacted with many students, with positions such as Senior Orientation Leader, Resident Assistant, and Peer Mentor. Christopher is eager to expand that number of students, and is very excited to be working as an Area Coordinator at the College Of St. Rose!
Sandy Garcia, Administrative Secretary
Sandy joined our team in February 2018. Â She is originally from the Caribbean island Barbados, where she completed her Education. Â She decided to migrate to the US 20 years ago and upon doing so, grew to love Albany and decided to call it home. Sandy enjoys meeting and interacting with people from different walks of life.
