Annual dinner celebrates roommates who stuck together

The atmosphere was lively as this year’s Four-Year Roommate Dinner commenced with a toast from Senior Associate Dean of Westhampton College, Kerry Albright Fankhauser: “To your friendships.” 

UR seniors who have had the same roommate since their first year gathered in the Queally Center’s Breed Pavillion on Tuesday, Nov. 11 for the annual dinner celebrating their long-lasting roommate pairings and groups.  

The sounds of clinking glasses rang throughout the room before the multi-course meal began with a salad and a choice of wine or beer. 

Grace Cristini and Caroline Gentile have been roommates since they met at Admitted Students Day four years ago.

“I ran up the stairs to get her phone number when I saw that she was leaving,” Gentile said.

From there on, they messaged online and bonded over owning the same pair of jeans, Cristini said. For them, the choice to become roommates was a natural one.

“I felt like I clicked with her the most out of everyone,” Cristini said. “I definitely wanted her to be my roommate.”

For Mikaila Farrell and Anna Nguyen, it was also “roommates-at-first sight.” They knew since their first year that they would be roommates for the rest of their time at UR, Farrell said.

“We’ve looked forward to this dinner since our first year,” Nguyen said. “We’ve been counting down the days.”

Not everyone, however, had as easy a start to their friendship. Chris Mazzaferri and Joe Sheridan met each other through the lacrosse team their first year. Their coach assigned them as roommates.

“I would say it took a little time [to bond] because we’re complete opposites,” Mazzaferri said. “But sometimes that’s what people need to balance each other out.”

As the next course, a steak dinner, was being served, students went to the back of the room to pick up framed photos. While registering for the dinner, students could submit a picture of themselves together as roommates. The university then framed the pictures as keepsakes.

All students in attendance were seniors who, ahead of graduation, also took the time to reflect on how their friendship as roommates impacted their lives over the past four years.

“It definitely made a big difference in making me love and appreciate Richmond even more,” Cristini said.

For Nguyen, she knew the first year could be rough for people, but she said she could not relate. 

“It was such a smooth transition and a lot of that is because I had such an awesome roommate,” Nguyen said.

Having the same roommate for all four years built a strong foundation to come home to, Gentile said.

While Gentile and Cristini personally changed over four years together, their friendship remained constant.

“We saw each other grow up and change in our own ways,” Cristini said. “But I know that Caroline is always in my corner whenever I need her for anything. She’s one of the people I really do trust.”

Whether they had a smooth or rocky start to their friendships, each roommate pair chose to stay together. For many, those four years were only the beginning. Some students are already making plans to keep in contact after graduation in the spring. 

“It’ll definitely be different now that we won’t be in the same place, but she’s someone that I can call over the phone and have fun just talking about our lives,” Gentile said.

While Sheridan is headed to medical school after graduation, Mazzaferri knows that he will be “blowing up Joe’s phone.”

Fankhauser’s opening speech commended students for building the valuable bonds that are required to want to room with someone for four straight years. If one thing is certain, it is that these students chose each other time and time again.

The people to treasure most in your life, Fankhauser said, are the ones who want you in their lives as well.

Contact features writer Amelia Beard at amelia.beard@richmond.edu