Housing and Residence Life

Message from Housing Director

Aloha Students and Families,

Welcome to the Hawaiʻi Pacific University ʻohana! I'm Marquet, Director of Housing, and I'm genuinely glad your student has chosen to call HPU home this year.

Here's something I believe deeply: campus housing isn't just a place to store your things between classes. It's where the real learning happens: how to navigate a hard conversation with a friend, how to ask for help, how to build a community from scratch with people who were strangers a few weeks ago. My team and I are here to make sure that learning happens in a place that feels safe, respectful, and supportive.

To families: I know how much your encouragement matters right now, even from a distance. That doesn't change just because your student has a new address. What does change, a little, is the shape of your support. As students settle into more independent living, the most helpful thing you can do is stay in their corner while giving them room to work things out themselves first. That's not us asking you to step back, it's us asking you to help your student step up, with you cheering from the sideline.

So when something comes up, a roommate conflict, a maintenance issue, anything in between, here's what I'd encourage:

Have your student start with their Community Advisor. CAs live on the floor, know the community, and are almost always the fastest path to a resolution.

If it needs another set of eyes, the next step is their Area Coordinator, a full-time professional staff member who oversees the CAs and knows the ins and outs of student development and residential life. Contact information for CAs and ACs by building is on our website.

And if your student has already tried these steps and something still doesn't feel resolved, my door is open. You can reach my office directly at housing@hpu.edu. 

I'm looking forward to a great year. Thank you for trusting us with this part of your student's journey.

With aloha,

Marquet Houston

Director of Housing