A person can spend a lifetime seeking spiritual guidance, but students living on the second floor of Copley Hall have someone offering answers just yards away. LaKendra Hardware has been a chaplain-in-residence at Georgetown since January 2004, lending a listening ear to students no matter where they find themselves on the winding paths of their college careers. Through nighttime chats and just saying “Hello,” Hardware has established herself as a source for advice both pious and practical.

How did you become a chaplain-in-residence at Georgetown?

Before coming to Georgetown, I worked in a church in a staff ministerial position. I had also done administrative work in businesses [and] I’d done some retail experience. I then saw the advertisement for the chaplain-in-residency and another position on campus in a flyer. I saw that it asked for the very things that I enjoy doing – talking to students, and being present with them, planning and programming. That’s an area as a chaplain that I enjoy, talking to people.

What kinds of things does your job entail?

It can be anything from the student knocking on your door, hanging out in the hall saying, `Hey, can I talk to you?’ to – actually, I do a program called `Late Night Laundry,’ where we hang out down in the Copley ultipurpose Room on Tuesday nights. . Basically it’s a hospitality hour, people kind of sit around and talk. We always have some kind of food or refreshment, and it’s really an opportunity for residents to get to know each other, but also for them to get to know us. So we’re there for the kind of random conversations that happen, but also when students have a crisis or are trying to deal with stress and they want to talk to someone, we’re here for that. That’s a benefit to being right here in the residence.

Do students actually come and talk to you? How frequently does that happen?

Usually at least once a week I’m talking to someone about something, and that’s a generalization. It just depends on the day; it just depends on the week. If there’s a lot of stress going on, sometimes I may just sit out in the hall and talk to students as they walk by. I live right on the corner right by the Global Living community, so a lot of those residents are always doing things. [I also] stop by the residence hall lounges, just to stop by and say “Hey, hi, how are you?” and sometimes those turn into deeper conversations.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

I think it’s those moments when you’ve begun to establish a relationship and people begin to open up about other things that they really want to talk about. One thing for me has been the Late Night Laundry . When I don’t do it, I get e-mails saying, “Hey, I was looking for Late Night Laundry, what happened to it?”

How do you respond to the diverse faith needs of Georgetown students?

Generally, I try to talk to the student and find out where the student is. One of the great things about all our chaplains-in-residence is that we are here to meet students and not to put them on the road exactly where we are. So it’s like wherever you are on your road. Generally if a student comes to you, they’re coming to you because they know you are a religious person, but a lot of times as I will find out where the person is as we talk about the issue. . It depends on what you, the student, really need and what it is that you want.

As a chaplain-in-residence, have you felt any of the fallout from Campus Ministry’s decision in August to cut ties with its affiliated Protestant ministries?

No, not in the residence hall. It hasn’t, as far as I’ve experienced. It hasn’t affected the resident experience. . I think people really respond to the connections they’ve made with someone. If you really touch a person at a place where it makes an impact, then that’s going to make a lasting impression. With the negative taste that may be going on outside, the person doesn’t need to be affected.

Do you have a pet?

The only pets I have are virtual pets! No, I don’t have any pets. I do want a fish, though. I had a fish in college.