WENATCHEE — Emma Winckler, 19, remembers looking up at Wenatchee Valley College’s new three-story dormitory and thinking, “I’m going to be part of something big.”

Inside the building, the first thing she saw was her “resident assistant” desk — an L-shaped hunk of dark wood by the front door like a reception counter.

“I thought, ‘Wow, this is serious,’” Winckler said. “I remember turning to my mom and asking her, ‘Am I going to be able to do this?’ She said if I couldn’t, I wouldn’t be here.”

On Thursday, the desk was still empty except for a squeeze-toy stress cow. The 24 rooms on the floor were mostly full.

Classes start Monday and most of the 56 dorm residents have moved in, said Jimmy Hill, resident life coordinator. The capacity is 72.

“We were hoping to be a little higher, but we know there are three to four students interested in signing up for winter and a few more will probably move in after the quarter starts,” Hill said.

Keeping the dorm full is critical to paying off the $2.8 million state loan WVC used to build it. In order to cover the loan payment and operating costs, the college must rent at least 95 percent of the building, or about 68 of the 72 beds, said Suzie Benson, vice president of administrative services.

If not, WVC has contingency plans to make up the difference, such as using cash reserves from the bookstore or cutting the dorm’s operating costs, she said.

“We never expected it to be a money-maker this year,” Benson said. “But if it’s successful this first year, it should easily fill next year.”

By 3 p.m. Thursday, sports practice made a ghost town out of the once-bustling community room on the first floor, the boys’ floor. About two-thirds of the dorm residents are athletes.

Jake Suder, 19, was left with an Xbox and two other floormates. The Okanogan native said the rent and convenience is a relatively good deal compared to other housing he researched. He found a $300 studio in East Wenatchee, but he didn’t want to drive. He found a $400 house, but his would-be roommate backed out, he said.

Student reviews of the new residence hall describe dorm life anywhere: the rooms are small, there are too many rules and $1 per load of laundry is outrageous.

One rule seemed to irk students the most: No girls or guys allowed in bedrooms of the opposite sex. Also, the other gender cannot hang out in community spaces after 11 p.m.

Celeste Page, 18, doesn’t like the 9 p.m. quiet-time rule either. The Tri-Cities local is thinking about leaving the college altogether.

“If I wanted to be told what to do, I would have stayed at my parents’ house,” Page said. “A lot of us are freshmen, but we’re not little kids.”

Hill said there have been two complaints — one about a loud stereo and the other was a noise complaint after a group came back late from a Dave Matthews Band concert.

What drew students in was the prospect a thriving social life, several students said.

“The convenience of being so close to the school and the social aspect of it; it’s a lot of fun,” said 18-year-old Sydnee Jerome, her cheeks slightly red from river tubing with some girls on her floor. Afterward, they gathered around the RA desk and dipped Oreos in peanut butter.

“We’re all learning how to deal with different people, which is good,” Jerome said about living on a floor with 24 other girls.

Winckler, RA on the girls’ floor, admitted feeling a little extra pressure as the dorm’s first generation. She and the other RAs are planning floor competitions, themed movie nights and other bond-building activities.

“We’re working on the ground level and building it up,” she said.

Rachel Schleif: 664-7139

schleif@wenatcheeworld.com