A Geneseo native is helping a new generation of Southern Illinois University students build connections on the same campus he once called home.

Chuck Hamilton, who came to SIU Carbondale from Geneseo to study aviation, and his wife, Tracy, donated $25,000 to create the new Hamilton Hangout at Mae Smith residence hall.

The student recreation and gathering space recently opened on SIU's East Campus and is designed to give students a place to step outside their rooms, spend time together, and build friendships. Located within the College of Health and Human Sciences Living Learning Community, the space includes arcade and video games, as well as areas for students to gather and recharge.

Hamilton lived in Mae Smith while attending SIU more than three decades ago. He earned degrees in aviation flight and aviation management and said the friendships and experiences he developed while living on campus remained an important part of his college experience.

“I came with four or five people that I knew, but when I left, I had a family,” Tracy Hamilton said of their experience at SIU.

The idea for the Hamilton Hangout originated with students. Dr. Robert Morgan, dean of SIU's College of Health and Human Sciences, asked students what would encourage them to leave their rooms and spend more time interacting with one another. Gaming and recreation emerged as one answer.

The Hamiltons saw an opportunity to help provide today's students with some of the same sense of community they experienced during their time at SIU.

“We really wanted to bring that sense of community and give the students a space to do that, to just hang out,” Chuck Hamilton said. “Get out of your room. Maybe get away from your phone for a minute and hang out with some other students.”

Hamilton said he hopes the space ultimately creates something more lasting than a place to play games.

“I hope they sense that community and that they build friendships that last throughout their SIU career and beyond,” he said. “Hopefully down the road, they’ll have a memory of their time in Mae Smith, just like we have our memories of the towers.”