Exceptional UCSB and SBCC Students to Lead Residence Hall and Apartment Communities

Isla Vista, CA – April 8, 2013 – Tropicana Student Housing is proud to announce its student Residence Life staff for the 2013-2014 academic year.  After an intensive 5-week interview and training process, twenty-six UCSB and SBCC students were chosen to provide leadership and build community at Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall, Tropicana Gardens Residence Hall and the Villas at Tropicana Upperclassmen Apartments.

“We are looking forward to using the unique talents of all of our student staff next year,” said Anna Rogers, Associate Director of Residence Life. “The candidates we selected are leaders who can inspire our residents and are crucial for creating a tight-knit community at Tropicana.”

Jacob Staines, a UCSB junior from Sacramento, will be the Residence Director at Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall for UCSB students. Erika Bellitt, a Westmont student from Pleasanton, and McKinley Mathon, a SBCC student from Atherton, CA, will be the new directors at Tropicana Gardens Residence Hall for SBCC students.  Alex Markovich, a UCSB student from Corona, CA, will be the new Director of the Villas at Tropicana Upperclassmen Apartments.

New Resident Assistants for the 2013-14 school year will be Martin Brambila (UCSB) from Santee, CA; Zachary Clark (SBCC) from Tehachapi, CA; Tanaya Deshmukh (UCSB) from Pune, India by way of Mission Viejo, CA; Yoli Gavaldon, (UCSB) from Irvine, CA; Hannah Guillies (SBCC) from Thousand Oaks, CA; Harmony Hartley (SBCC) from Ojai, CA; Kodie Hebert (SBCC) from Portland, OR; Nico Hernandez (SBCC) from Salou, Spain; Yarim Jalomo, (SBCC) from Fresno, CA; Jenny Nguyen (UCSB) from Santa Clara, CA; Gladiola Pelayo, (UCSB) from Glendale, CA; Tracy Pfister (SBCC) from Napierville, IL; Eric Rouse (UCSB), from Placerville, CA; Matthew Ruth (UCSB) from Valley Springs, CA; Morgan Ryan (UCSB) from Salt Lake City, UT; and Johnathan Sokol (UCSB) from Thousand Oaks, CA.

Returning Tropicana Resident Assistants include Francisco Escobedo, a UCSB student from Cerritos, CA; Austin Fekete, a UCSB student from Chino, CA; Betti Guerrero, a UCSB student from Greenfield, CA; and Sean Tanabe from San Francisco, a current SBCC student who will transfer to UCSB next year. Ryan Fluence, a native of New Orleans who is transferring from SBCC to UCSB next year. Carolyn Burt, a SBCC student from Palo Alto, CA, will be Tropicana’s Program Coordinator.

Students in Private Residence Halls Tropicana Del Norte and Tropicana Gardens now have the convenience of ordering their favorite Domino’s food at their fingertips.

Los Angeles–February 15, 2013 – In order to maximize Domino’s presence and accessibility to UC Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) students living in Isla Vista, local Domino’s franchisee Mark Talarico needed an innovative solution. With the rollout of EMN8-powered self-service kiosks, and the help of a local student housing company, he was able to get just that – more food delivered to more students in a quick, convenient, affordable and easily-managed fashion.

Starting this semester Tropicana Student Housing residents have the ability to order Domino’s right from kiosks located in their residence halls. The added convenience provides Talarico with a solution that addresses student needs while simultaneously offering a smarter, more streamlined system to manage customer orders.

“The Tropicana Student Housing kiosk installation enhances Domino’s footprint in Isla Vista and allows us to drive more sales through EMN8’s QSR solution,” said Talarico, Owner of Domino’s Pizza in Isla Vista, CA. “We’re excited to deliver this new offering to the community along with exclusive discounts and promotions to area residents craving the fresh taste of Domino’s pizza.”

“The UCSB students and Santa Barbara City College students who live in our residence halls are up at all hours studying,” said Dave Wilcox, Executive Director of Tropicana Student Housing. “As a private student housing company we are always looking for new and innovative ways to keep our residents happy. We found the latest cutting edge technology provided by Domino’s and EMN8 helped further this goal.”

Students of the residence halls have also expressed excitement about the kiosks, an offering that is quickly growing in popularity because of their relative ease of use and special discounts available to those that use them: there is no dialing, no waiting; simply place the order and EMN8’s technology takes care of the rest.

“What’s great is you get deals, and not have to speak on the phone with the operator like in the past. Plus, my building has two kiosks so depending where you’re located in the building, it’s very convenient,” mentioned Ryan Fluence, a student at Santa Barbara Community College.

“When I first touched the screen a woman spoke to me explaining my options. There were a ton of options! I also noticed it gave me a reasonable delivery time. The machine was very convenient and easy to use! It helped me with every step of the way. I think every building should have one of these! Very cool,” said Giana Olivieri, a UCSB student.

As the quick service industry in the United States reached $160 billion in 2011, Domino’s ranked #12 in the US and is currently the #2 pizza franchise. Through a partnership between EMN8 and Domino’s, Domino’s franchises have seen an increase in revenue and are working to expand the availability of the solution to additional markets in 2013 based on positive test rollouts.

About EMN8

EMN8 Inc. designs, builds and delivers self-service platforms for the restaurant and retail industries. The company’s digital solutions increase transactions, while delivering operational efficiencies, enhanced brand engagement, gross margin improvement and customer loyalty. With cross-platform integration across online, in-store kiosk and mobile, EMN8 Inc. provides seamless, multi-channel customer experiences, and products that leverage innovative technology, design, cash and payment card handling, and integration with leading consumer applications. EMN8 Inc. currently supports tens of millions of guest transactions for global and regional brands such as, Burger King, The Counter, CPK, Domino’s, and Jack in the Box, KFC, Taco Bell and YUM! Brands International. For information visit www.emn8.com.

About Tropicana Student Housing

Tropicana Student Housing, www.tropicanastudenthousing.com, offers private residence halls and apartments for students attending the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB )and Santa Barbara City College (SBCC). Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall caters to incoming UCSB freshmen; Tropicana Gardens Residence Hall serves students attending Santa Barbara City College, and the Villas at Tropicana is a college apartment community for upperclassmen. Tropicana Student Housing is also host to more than 90 summer camps annually and has been the proud summer home of Michael Jordan’s Flight School since 1995. For more information, please contact Wendy Ballard, Director of Marketing at (805) 968-0351.

Contact:

Weber Shandwick on behalf of EMN8, Inc.

Kim Kish206-576-5588

kkish@webershandwick.com

Twitter: @EMN8

Facebook: www.facebook.com/EMN8

Santa Barbara, CA – December 1, 2012 – For several hours on a rainy Saturday afternoon, more than 75 Tropicana Student Housing residents and staff  along with UCSB Rugby, UCSB Field Hockey, and SBCC Cheerleaders, teamed up to prepare meal packets for Stop Hunger Now. Tropicana Gardens Café turned into an assembly line to create 10,300 meals of rice, soy protein, dehydrated vegetables and nutrients.

“I’m so proud of the work the volunteers did to pull this off,” says Dave Wilcox, Executive Director of Tropicana Student Housing.  “It was exciting to hear the gong sound whenever we reached the milestone of another 1,000 meals completed.” The 10,300 meals that the Tropicana students and staff assembled will be distributed to Guatemala through Stop Hunger Now, an international hunger relief agency that ships them to school feeding programs in developing countries.

Stop Hunger Now coordinates the distribution of food and other life-saving aid around the world, with a mission to end hunger in our lifetime. Stop Hunger Now’s meal packing program began in 2005, and since then, more than 100,000 volunteers have packaged nearly 30 million meals to feed the world’s impoverished.

View more news coverage of the event at the Daily Nexus and KEYT.

About Tropicana Student Housing

Tropicana Student Housing operates private residence halls and apartments for students attending the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) in Santa Barbara, California.  Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall (www.tropicanadelnorte.com), conveniently located adjacent to UCSB’s Main Campus is a small and friendly community with spacious suite-style units, an unlimited meal plan and resort-style living. Villas at Tropicana (www.villasattropicana.com) is an Isla Vista apartment community that caters to upperclassmen with furnished apartments and flexible leasing options. Tropicana Gardens (www.tropicanagardens.com), located an express bus ride away from Santa Barbara City College, is a private residence hall that provides an attractive alternative to apartments for SBCC students with its suite-style units and social and recreational activities organized by its large team of energetic RAs. For more information, please contact Wendy Ballard, Director of Marketing at (805) 968-0351 or WBallard@tropicanastudenthousing.com.

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Santa Barbara, CA – September 4, 2012 – Tropicana Student Housing and UCSB Athletics announced a new multi-year marketing agreement. Tropicana Student Housing has been named the Official Student Housing Sponsor of UCSB Athletics.

“Tropicana has been a long-time supporter of UCSB Athletics,” said Executive Director Dave Wilcox. We have been home to hundreds of UCSB student athletes over the years. We want to recognize UCSB Athletics’ contribution to our success and to be a part of their winning tradition. We are happy to take be taking our relationship with UCSB Athletics to the next level. You won’t find a more enthusiastic group of Gaucho Locos than our Tropicana residents!”

“We are thrilled to have Tropicana Student Housing as our partner and grateful for their support for the next three years.” Cabe Flesher, General Manager, Nelligan Sports Marketing.

About Tropicana Student Housing

Tropicana Student Housing offers private residence halls and apartments for students attending the University of California at Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Santa Barbara City College (SBCC). Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall caters to incoming UCSB freshmen; the Villas at Tropicana is a college apartment community geared toward upperclassmen and Tropicana Gardens Residence Hall serves SBCC students. Tropicana Student Housing is also host to more than 70 summer camps annually and has been the proud summer home of Michael Jordan’s Flight School since 1995. For more information, please contact Wendy Ballard, Director of Marketing at (805) 968-0351 or WBallard@tropicanastudenthousing.com.

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Antonio Castillo Carrera wins the Apple iPad Sweepstakes
 
Isla Vista, CA – June 16, 2012 – Tropicana Student Housing is pleased to announce the winner of the free Apple iPad Sweepstakes drawing. Antonio Castillo Carrera is the randomly-selected prize winner and will receive the new Apple iPad, valued at $499. The sweepstakes was open to individuals who signed up online, entered in person at Tropicana Del Norte, or who entered via mail.
 
“Our team here at Tropicana Student Housing would like to congratulate the winner and everyone who participated in this contest through submitting an entry online, by mail or in person after taking a tour of Tropicana Del Norte, our residence hall for UCSB freshman and continuing students,” said David Wilcox, Executive Director. “We are excited to offer the Apple iPad as our sweepstakes prize and hope the winner will find this tool useful in his academic studies.”

About Tropicana Student Housing

Tropicana Student Housing operates private residence halls and apartments for students attending the University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) and Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) in Santa Barbara, California.  Tropicana Del Norte Residence Hall (www.tropicanadelnorte.com), conveniently located directly adjacent to UCSB’s Main Campus is a small and friendly community with spacious suite-style units, an unlimited meal plan and resort-style living. Villas at Tropicana (www.villasattropicana.com) is an Isla Vista apartment community that caters to upperclassmen with furnished apartments and flexible leasing options. Tropicana Gardens (www.tropicanagardens.com), located an express bus ride away from Santa Barbara City College, is a private residence hall that provides an attractive alternative to apartments for SBCC students with its suite style units and social and recreational activities organized by its large team of energetic RAs. For more information about housing options for UCSB and SBCC students, please call 805-968-4319.

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