As the new St. Thomas neighborhood liaison, Amy Gage said she hopes to work closely with Off Campus Student Services as well as various groups in the neighborhood to bring fresh ideas to the position.

“Positive and proactive are my watchwords,” Gage said. “I want to bring a focus on reaching out to the neighbors and building a relationship with them.”

After John Hershey, neighborhood liaison for 16 years, retired, Gage was brought on in June with 13 years of higher education experience.

The position serves as the go-between for St. Thomas neighbors, students, businesses, landlords and community councils. St. Thomas is the only private college or university in Minnesota to employ a full-time liaison.

In 2001, Gage began her career in higher education at St. Olaf College in Northfield. After seven years at St. Olaf, Gage moved to St. Catherine University. She worked as marketing and communications director at both schools and said she thinks her background in communications will enhance her new position at St. Thomas.

Gage said working together with the West Summit Neighborhood Advisory Committee and similar councils is important in building and strengthening relationships.

“Working with WSNAC, police and Public Safety, as well as a number of other groups on campus will be the key to making neighborhood relations work,” Gage said.

Gage also said she brings a unique background to the job.

“I have two additional hats in this role, a neighbor and landlord, which will give me a different perspective into the position,” Gage said.

Gage said that while she didn’t deal with many complaints over the summer, her work accumulated once more students arrived on campus.

“(Tuesday) was filled with calls about parties over the weekend. I was consumed the entire day,” Gage said.

While Gage said the first weekend of fall semester may have been eventful for documenting complaints, she said she thinks that the relations in the neighborhood are improving, citing the annual St. Thomas Neighborfest, which was held July 31, as a good start to the academic year.

“Events like these show neighbors not just the wealth of resources St. Thomas has to offer, but the true character of our students,” Gage said.

Gage said the most important part of keeping peace between students and residents is to treat each other like neighbors.

“Go out, meet your neighbors, create a relationship. But most of all, treat each other with respect,” Gage said.

Sophomore Sean Coffey met his neighbors in early September and said it went well.

“We had a barbecue on Labor Day and met some of the neighbors then. They were all very nice, and it should be a great year,” Coffey said.

Joe and Sharon Reid, who have lived in the neighborhood for more than 44 years, said building relationships is the most important ingredient to maintaining respect in the area.

“Every year we exchange numbers with our college neighbors, so we can keep in contact and call them if we have a problem,” Sharon said. “We don’t want to call the police, but we will if we have to.”

The couple said they haven’t had any trouble using this system for the past few years. They added that they haven’t met their new neighbors yet, but hope to soon.

Gage said she encouraged students to reach out to their neighbors.

“It’s important for our students to make contact with their neighbors. It shows a level of responsibility and respect that will create a strong relationship,” Gage said.

Luke Moe can be reached at 95234@stthomas.edu.