Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Syracuse University senior Jenna Lewis got lucky. Over the past four years, after spending mornings in class, nights going out with friends and days watching SU’s various sports teams in the JMA Wireless Dome, she has always returned home to the same person: Ashley Maikowski.

“I think having the same roommate for all four years gives you a constant in a time when everything else is changing,” Lewis said.

At SU, students’ housing often changes each year — from freshman dorms on Main Campus to South Campus apartments, off-campus options or Greek life housing. But for some seniors, one part of college life stayed the same: their roommates.

Lewis and Maikowski connected on an incoming freshmen Facebook group in July 2022 while looking for roommates before beginning college. Then, they added each other on Snapchat, began texting and decided to room together before arriving at SU.

Four years later, Lewis and Maikowski are still roommates.

Even in a near-shoebox-sized double in Flint Hall freshman year, Lewis and Maikowski quickly learned that they worked well as roommates. At first, Maikowski was intimidated by her new surroundings, but Lewis helped relieve that stress.

Maikowski said coming to Syracuse was intimidating because she didn’t know many people, and her roommate was the only person she’d talked to. They’ve stayed close since freshman year, even moving into DellPlain Hall sophomore year and off campus junior and senior year.

Sloane Brown and Mia Tiano also lived in Flint as freshmen. Like Lewis and Maikowski, they grew closer while adjusting to college life and building routines together. By the end of freshman year, Brown and Tiano as well as Lewis and Maikowski were adamant about living together again instead of moving into their respective sorority houses.

Lewis and Maikowski bonded over food, often trying new restaurants around SU together, including the Craftsman Wood Grille & Taphouse for birthdays.

Brown and Tiano’s housing situation changed sophomore year, but their determination to live together did not. They were originally assigned to Marion Hall, but both Brown and Tiano felt that Marion was the wrong place for them.

In February, Brown and Tiano moved out of Marion and into 206 Walnut Place, a former fraternity house SU converted into student housing.

The house had a kitchen, a laundry room, a living room and about 10 residents, Brown said. She and Tiano lived there with other close friends, all of whom were in different sororities. It felt like they’d created their own sorority house.

When it came time to decide whether to live in their sorority houses for junior year, Brown said there was no question that she and Tiano would keep living together.

“We were like, ‘Wait, no, we’re living together,’” Brown said. “I don’t care if that means not living in a sorority house.”

However, Maikowski said the size of her and Lewis’ open double made freshman and sophomore year challenging. Living in a shared space meant they had to be mindful of each other’s routines. If one of them wanted to sleep earlier, the other kept the lights off. If one of them was studying, the other gave them their space. If one was talking to family late at night, they lowered their voice or stepped outside.

“We were both very respectful of each other’s space, as we were always in the same room together,” Lewis said.

By junior year, Lewis and Maikowski moved into Park Point with two other roommates. Maikowski said having their own rooms gave them more space while still allowing them to spend time together. They would watch movies in the living room, get ready with their doors open and listen to music together.

Living with Maikowski for four years became an important part of Lewis’ college experience. To this day, Lewis said Maikoswi is still her best friend, and the two understand each other more deeply because they’ve gone through similar experiences at SU, from classes and friendships to joining the same sorority.

While Maikowski and Lewis are different people now than they were when they first moved into their freshman dorm, living together helped them grow closer.

Maikowski said Lewis has become one of the people she’s grown closest with during her college experience. Although they both have grown from their 18-year-old selves, being with one another though it all allowed them to grow together.

Their bond strengthened in junior year, when much of their friend group studied abroad and Lewis and Maikowski stayed at SU.

“We almost only had each other,” Lewis said. “That was definitely a good bonding experience, too.”

Brown said living with the same person for four years worked because she and Tiano were honest with each other from the beginning.

If they were annoyed, they talked about it. This relationship, Brown said, became more like sisters than roommates.

With graduation in five days, both roommate pairs are preparing to leave behind the rooms, apartments and routines that shaped their college experiences. But their friendships have become more than housing arrangements.

For incoming freshmen, or rising sophomores staying with their current roommates, Lewis said it’s important to have patience and respect. Maikowski said students should keep an open mind and remember they are sharing a space with someone else.

Then, maybe others can have the same roommate experience as them.

“Being open and willing to create a connection with the person that you’re living with is so important,” Maikowski said. “They’re ultimately the person that you’re going to be doing everything with, and you never know how long that will last.”

Published on May 5, 2026 at 12:22 am
Contact Kosta: kkonstan@syr.edu