Andrew Steger (right) drives the RHA golf cart float that was part of the Homecoming Parade.
Hello! My name is Andrew Steger, and I have the honor of serving as the current president of Purdue's Residence Hall Association (RHA). I am a junior at Purdue, studying aeronautical and astronautical engineering. I am from Midland, Michigan (If I were with you in person, I would love to show you where that is on my hand, as all true Michiganders do).
I have been involved with RHA in some capacity since my freshman year. I started my RHA track as a freshman hall club president, overseeing the Earhart Residence Hall club (Itasca Club). I loved that role and in my sophomore year, I transitioned to a resident assistant (RA) at Earhart. That brings me to this year, where I find myself working as both an RA and the president of RHA! Outside of my RHA and RA roles, I am also a teaching assistant in the Office of Professional Practice at Purdue, a lover of intramural soccer and an avid outdoorsman. I am always looking for fresh powder to ski on or a new Michigan river to fish from.
The 2025 school year brings about a special moment in the history of RHA at Purdue. We turn 50 this year! We started the school year off in typical RHA fashion with RHA Day – a welcome back to campus carnival-themed party, with tie-dye, carnival games, sand art, DIY Build-A-Bear, prizes and of course, an inflatable waterslide! This year's festivity was also marketed as a birthday party and to celebrate the extra special occasion, we had a Dip-N-Dots vendor handing out a tasty treat to celebrate. We had more than 1,500 students participate in our various activities and connect with the multitude of student organizations involved in Residential Life. Everything from individual hall clubs to University Residences Multicultural Connections (URMC), University Residences Global, Purdue Dining & Culinary and Boilers in Action were all present at the event engaging with students, many of whom were brand new to campus!
Our goal in RHA this year is to ensure that Purdue students, especially those living on campus, truly feel at home. RHA Day was just one of the many exciting events we have planned for this year. We are also planning on continuing important initiatives like "Hygiene Handouts," which provides students with free essentials such as shampoo, toothpaste and deodorant. Returning soon by popular demand will be the Halloween Spooktacular event, featuring candy, pumpkin painting, tarot card reading, a scary movie premiere and more. Our executive board is eager to continue creating opportunities for students to connect while also advancing our advocacy efforts to ensure everyone feels comfortable calling Purdue home.
My favorite RHA initiative is hands down our Wacky Dacky Rubber Ducky 5K Fun Run Walk Roll Charity Race. It’s definitely a mouthful, but that’s part of the fun! This event is a charity 5K spearheaded by RHA. We collaborate with various hall clubs at Purdue to ensure this 5K is like no other. The course runs through much of the campus and hall clubs are tasked with making their respective areas as “wacky” as they can. Whether that's accomplished with a ridiculous number of bubbles, pancakes or bouncy house obstacle courses, we let the hall clubs decide. The race starts and ends in Cary Quad with a Wacky Dacky party to celebrate all the money raised. All of the race fee proceeds are donated to charity, historically allowing us to donate enough money to support 8,000 meals for families facing food insecurity. We are in the process of planning our fourth annual Wacky Dacky Rubber Ducky 5K and hope to see you there!