GovCo: Potter

Potter is located on the beautiful western edge of campus. It neighbors the other houses in Sterling Quad—Robinson, Schiff and Adams—and is steps away from the educational farm, tennis courts, driving range, golf course and Red Barn. Right outside the house is a large field and picnic area with barbecues, basketball courts and a sand volleyball court. Lake Lagunita is just across the lawn, and one block down the road you'll find Arrillaga Outdoor Education and Recreation Center (AOERC), home to the recreational swimming pool, climbing gym, indoor basketball courts, a weight room and fitness center, and outdoor center.

Residents share a computer cluster and study room, laundry room, kitchenette, and lounge with a piano, pool table and television. The front door opens into a courtyard that leads to Ricker Dining Hall. More than just a building, we hope Potter can become your home away from home, a supportive community that celebrates the incredible intellectual and personal dynamism that each person brings to a house.

Resident Fellows

Photograph of the Potter Resident Fellow family.

Ben and Jill Patton, the Resident Fellows in Potter, started as frosh at Stanford in 1999. They're entering their second year in Potter and previously spent 4 years as RFs in Otero, in Wilbur Hall. Jill earned her bachelor’s degree in Latin American Studies in 2003 and a coterminal master’s degree in Media Studies in 2004. Highlights during her time at the Farm include two summers as Sierra Camp staph, serving as a student instructor for the Outdoor Education Program, running the climbing gym as president of the Stanford Climbing Wall Club, and co-founding SOOP, the Outdoor Outreach Program. She lived in Larkin, Kairos, Potter and, again, Kairos (as the kitchen manager), in addition to quarters in Santiago, Chile, and Stanford in Washington. She hails from various states in the Midwest and from Raleigh, North Carolina. Jill is currently senior editor for STANFORD magazine, the bimonthly publication serving Stanford’s 230,000 living alumni. She returned to the Farm in 2014 after nearly a decade in daily journalism.

A native of Seattle, Ben is Vice President of Finance for Idemitsu Renewables’ U.S. solar project development team. Ben has a B.S. in Symbolic Systems and a minor in East Asian Studies. He started out his Stanford days in SLE and ended up on the Row; along the way, he led Outdoor Education Program trips, raced with the cycling team, and studied abroad in Kyoto. He also took a year off to complete a ceramics apprenticeship in Karatsu, Japan, with Takashi Nakazato, a nominated Living National Treasure. These days, you’ll find him surfing at Ocean Beach, kitesurfing under the Golden Gate Bridge, grilling salmon on the back porch, or traveling to space in couch-shaped rockets (with his kids).

Joining Ben and Jill in Potter are Wyatt, 8, and Cora, 6, who enjoy playing soccer, learning gymnastics, making art, playing Pokémon Go, watching Star Wars movies, rollerblading, boogie boarding, and learning about the lives of college students. Also joining them is their cat Kuma (@thestanfordcat), who is available for cuddling at all times.