Commuter Lounge Opens in Wilson Hall

The Westfield State Commuter Lounge officially opened on Wednesday with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Located on the bottom floor of Wilson Hall, the lounge serves as a safe and quiet place for Westfield State’s roughly 2,000 commuters to relax, study, and charge their digital devices. Although called a space for “commuters,” the space is open to all Westfield State Owls. 

With Student Government Association Vice President Jack Guindon; Maureen Socha, Associate Vice President of Capital Planning and Facilities; and Joshua Hettrick, Associate Director of Space Management, leading the project, plans for the lounge were first introduced at the beginning of the year. 

“The idea was first floated on our student government to build a commuter lounge,” Guindon said. "When we were designing the lounge, it was done mostly online, so it was hard to tell how it was going to come out. When I peeked at it during orientation, it really looked nice.”

Socha concurred, expressing excitement over the lounge’s opening after so many months of planning and fine-tuning the details. "We are so excited to have completed the newly renovated space for our commuter students,” she said. “It was a fun project to plan. Our entire team in Facilities worked on it and are so proud of how it came out. We’re still working on a few, fun details for the space… so, more to come soon!”

Guindon referenced working with Facilities as his favorite part of the project, saying that it was “easy” to work with everyone involved. “It was really nice getting to know them,” he said. “I could see in the future working with them again. They made the process better.” 

Although the Owl Cafe has been a fixture on campus for some time, the lounge is currently utilizing former open space nearby. In addition to various chairs and sofas, the lounge now offers two study pods, several outlets and USB charging ports, along with a whiteboard, for students to engage with their classwork in a smaller, more intimate space.

In addition to working on the lounge itself, Guindon cited getting involved with campus projects as one of the best parts of being a student at Westfield State. “It’s so easy to get involved on campus,” Guindon said. “As a commuter, I'm here a lot. We have such a small campus… once you get involved with something, you’ll see a lot of the same people, and you can join them at other events too.” 

When asked  about what he’d like to tell other commuters, Guindon recommended taking on a more active role on campus, whether  by joining a club, going to events, or engaging with a mixture of the two.

“I'd recommend any commuter student to just join any club that’s related to your major. Or even if it’s not,” he said. “You can meet people, and it just makes the college experience so much better.”

 Contact Jack Guindon directly on the commuter lounge, or any other issue involving student life at Vpstudentlife.sga@westfield.ma.edu.