Hill and Walsh celebrate their first birthday bash. (Courtesy of @hillwalsh_tcu on Instagram)

Celebrating their one-year anniversary as official TCU residence halls, Hill and Walsh hosted a birthday bash for both current and former residents on Jan. 28.

Hall directors and resident assistants started planning the event two weeks prior, said Patrick McCurdy, a resident assistant and junior sports broadcasting major.

Early in the semester, Hill and Walsh decided to make the party happen. McCurdy credited Makayla Hare, the housing and residence life hall director for Hill and Walsh, with the idea.

Hill and Walsh have grown tremendously this past year, McCurdy and Hare said.

“It’s been really fun,” said Monserrat Macario, a first-year neuroscience major and Hill resident. “The first week was awkward, but throughout the year, it has been a really open community where everyone can talk to each other and have fun.”

According to Hare, their ultimate goal was to build a culture that drives people out of their dorms and makes residents feel at home. McCurdy also wants to continue to foster an environment like the previous spring semester.  

Students gather to celebrate the first birthday for Hill and Walsh. (Photo courtesy of @hillwalsh_tcu on Instagram)

Being further from the other residence halls on campus “has helped us build a relationship with the residences,” Hare said. “It’s not just a hall director or RAs, or even residents. It’s a family.” 

Area coordinator Sean Strickland said that, to him, the Hill and Walsh birthday party meant “the growth of TCU, the growth of our community and the growth of belonging amongst our students.”

“Looking around while this event is going on, it’s awesome to see past students, who were the first people to live here in the spring of 2025, interact with the current students, who were the first full class to come in,” Strickland said. “Seeing them interact across classifications is really what TCU embodies.” 

Although Hill and Walsh are the newest additions to campus, they will not be for long. According to TCU’s campus master plan, this plan will serve as a blueprint for the next decade of expansions, starting with the Morado on Berry.