SEAHO Report - Winter 2022 - 57

FEATURE ARTICLES
Farewell SEAHO
Elizabeth Greenlee
I moved to Miami from Cleveland to become an Area Director at the University of Miami in August of 2018.
I was excited to be working in a Residential College with faculty and to be part of an organization that was
rapidly growing. The students instantly had my heart and I was so excited to be there. Pretty quickly, I became
a trio with Jared Sarcka and my soon-to-be best friend, Daniel J. Watt. Jared and I would overlap in our work
lives, but Daniel and I, not so much. It provided a nice balance because we quickly discovered our shared
interests in anime, gaming, and French toast sticks at the dining hall.
When Daniel moved to North Carolina to work at Duke University as a Residence Coordinator, we still talked
every day. We strategized about how to develop our staff, brainstormed opening weekend programs, and
discussed how I thought it was a terrible idea that he do a 7:30am staff team meeting (something he said
he would never do again and trust me, I did not mind being right). We loved talking about recruitment and
selection. We would discuss important issues such as hiring student staff, reducing bias in the recruitment
process, the merits and validity of group process, and how we would run TPE. We spent every day talking
about everything and anything. No detail too small to share.
We discovered that spending all day, every day together in some form or another, even long distance at this
point, meant something greater for us. We started dating long-distance and figuring out ways to make a
relationship work, eventually making plans to live together in Durham and one day getting married. We were
both deeply invested in our careers and seeking opportunities to get involved in our local communities. I had
met some incredible friends and mentors at RELI 2019 and was excited to welcome a new cohort to University
of Miami in 2020, but the pandemic had other plans.
Daniel and I made the most of our time. When we weren't together in person, we lived our lives together
on FaceTime. We stayed as updated as possible, sharing articles and tweets almost hourly. We were both
passionate about racial justice. We donated. We advocated. We made calls. Sent emails. We made promises
to each other that we would invest in our communities wherever we lived. We had plans to write program
proposals and start presenting at conferences. Daniel actively sought out ways to get involved in the Duke
community. He took on advising as another way to support students. Daniel loved Duke and his colleagues.
He also loved his students. He talked about the significance of being able to mentor other Black men on
campus. He would reflect often on how important mentorship was and how he took great responsibility in
being a role model. He looked to his brother as an example and strived to be someone that people could rely
on. There was so much hope and so much we planned on doing. Having a life together dedicated to serving
others, that was the plan.
But this is a farewell letter, SEAHO. After a great weekend together in Miami, Daniel flew back to Durham. I
had no idea we were having our last conversation and when the crash happened, my life changed forever. A
drunk driver hit the car Daniel was riding in, and he died.
Daniel wanted to make a difference in higher education. He believed his life had been changed for the better
through his mentors and his own RA experience at the University of Pittsburgh. He wanted to facilitate that
same learning, growth, and opportunity for others. It's impossible to capture how much love he had for other
people, and how much he wanted to make this world a better, safer place.
I've recently left the SEAHO region to oversee housing for an institution in Brooklyn, New York, which is
why this is also my farewell. I've appreciated all the opportunities and mentorship this region has afforded
me. Serving on the DEI professional development sub-committee for SEAHO introduced me to so many
wonderful people. My RELI experience was transformational and I cherish those friendships. I also gained
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