He Loved Being an RA. Now, Building Community is His Full-Time Job.

This story is part of Georgetown Faces, a storytelling series that celebrates the beloved figures, unsung heroes and dedicated Hoyas who make our campus special.

Troy Meury loves building community.

As a psychology major at the University of North Florida, Meury served as a resident assistant (RA) starting his sophomore year and embraced his role. He found that his passion wasn't in psychology, but in helping others and fostering community.

"I had a conversation with my supervisor [in residential life] and he was like, 'You can get a degree in this, you can get a career in this.' It just blew my mind having that conversation."

Since then, Meury has charged headfirst into his career in student affairs. After earning his master's degree in college student affairs from the University of West Georgia, he was drawn to Georgetown for its focus on diversity and caring for the whole person. Meury joined Georgetown as the community director of Copley Hall and Ida Ryan & Issac Hawkins Hall in 2022. In his role, he's charged with creating a welcoming community inside the residence halls and being a resource for his students.

As we start off the school year, get to know this community director and what brings him joy as he surrounds himself with his students every day to build community on the Hilltop.

How I got my start in student affairs: I was an RA for three years, so that was kind of the initial starting point of my interest in student affairs. Sophomore year of undergrad I got the RA role and was super excited. I had my first group of residents, and I loved being able to build community and be there to help shape that experience for them. I deeply enjoyed being that person who was there as a resource, as someone that they could come to and talk to. It kind of just lit a fire in me.

What brought me to Georgetown:I always told myself I'm not a very religious person, so I tried to avoid religious universities when looking for jobs. But then I looked into Georgetown, and I really loved the focus that the university had on diversity and caring for the whole person, while also being able to meet students where they are and help them develop from there. I felt like that would be a good starting point for my career, to be enveloped in that diversity and that care, and I felt like Georgetown was the perfect place to do that.

What brings me joy in my role as community director: My biggest motivator lies with my students and with my RAs. I seek to give them the same experience that I had as an RA. It was a very fulfilling job for me, and I think a lot of that was also tied to the kind of supervisor that I had and the kind of experience I was able to give to students because of him. So my biggest goal is making sure that my RAs are supported so they can also provide a fulfilling experience to their residents, especially with first-years, and help them connect with the campus and other people.

My favorite community tradition:One thing we try to do every year is the Copley Thanksgiving Feast. We did that my first year, and it was really successful. That was one of the traditions that we started that I want to fully bring back this year and focus on because it was just a great way to get everyone in the same place, eating together, bonding and having that space for community to happen. It was a nice experience for residents who either weren't able to go home or were working still on campus.

What I'd like to tell first-year students at Georgetown: My biggest piece of advice to first years is to always have fun. These next few years are going to be the best time of your life, so please have fun while here. There are a lot of pressures from academics and the campus to get involved, but really focus on discovering yourself and finding a community that supports you through your time at Georgetown.

My favorite time of year at Georgetown:I grew up in Florida, so for me, I just love fall in general. I try to go all out with my office, I actually have my fall decorations sitting in the corner right now. I have a lot of Halloween-themed things that I like to put up around my office; I have some lights that I like to wrap around my desk and little pumpkins and skeletons that I put out. I love when it starts getting colder, especially when the leaves start to change around the campus and neighborhood. I'm a very big Halloween lover, so I love to see how the entire city changes as we get into that feeling of fall.

What I wish everyone knew about my job: Sometimes, CDs [community director] can be seen as just the authority figure in our buildings, but I want people to know that our true goal is to make sure that they're having a good experience on campus and while at Georgetown. We want to be a part of that journey with them. We are there to be someone to help you through this adventure and make sure that you have the resources that you need to be safe and successful.

What I like to do when I'm not on duty: I used to read a lot more when I was younger, so I've been trying to get back into that. I like to hang out with my friends in my spare time. With living and working on campus, you really need to find that balance of getting off [campus] and hanging out with your friends and just being in the city. I love walking around DC and discovering places I haven't seen yet.

One word I'd use to describe Georgetown:Special. There's so much diversity present on campus and such a large global population here as well, getting to work with these students is such an eye-opening experience. Georgetown has so many initiatives focused on helping students while also keeping the campus innovative. It's special to me, and it's special to the students as well, and I think that's the only way I could describe it.