BEGINNING THE JOURNEY OF A LIFETIME

Three years ago, in fall 2020, CSP debuted its first living learning community (LLC), a cohort of students who would live in the same residence hall, participate in extracurricular programming, and take at least two classes together. The inaugural LLC, the Jackson Business Leadership community, was so successful that CSP added the Science & Service Integrated Learning Community in 2021, and a third in fall 2022, the Christian Thought & Leadership Living Learning Community.

As Jake Wakem, Director of Student Life Education and Leadership, explains, LLCs bring different aspects of university life together, such as residential and student life and academics. The goal is to provide a high-quality experience that leads to students graduating and pursuing their professional and personal callings with additional skills and competencies.

Students report finding “value, applicability, and overall a higher percentage of ‘tie’ to the university, the desire to come back, the desire to finish their four years, and then obviously for our hope to get that dream job after college and to feel prepared for that step,” Wakem details.

Drew Deas, the first year seminar instructor for this fall’s LLC, agrees: “If students connect or join something, they’re more likely to come back their sophomore year. Get involved in some way shape or form, you increase your chances of graduating.”

The communities are so popular with students that CSP has had to institute waitlists. Faculty are also invigorated by the success of and potential for LLCs and are sharing ideas for new ones with Wakem.

This fall’s inaugural cohort of the Christian Thought & Leadership LLC includes eleven students who are living in Hyatt Village and taking the first year seminar course as well as an Old Testament theology course together this semester. Students and staff rave about their experiences.

For church work student Robert Finch, applying to the Christian Thought & Leadership LLC was an easy decision. “I rejoiced more that I was accepted to the dorm than when I was accepted to CSP,” he shares. And, his experience is “exactly what I thought it would be, even better... The classes are fantastic. You can tell the faculty genuinely care about their students.” Another highlight for Finch is his classmates: “I really love the people. I’ve been set up with an amazing suitemate, able to become friends with people in my pod.”

Sofia Sandcork, whose parents and brother also attended CSP, found the Christian Thought & Leadership LLC appealing because she liked the idea of being “surrounded by like minded people who want to serve, and to know right away that I have something in common with the people living in the pod and that faith would be the center of this community.”

Sandcork’s comments echo what Deas sees in his experience working with students across the university: “A recurring theme I hear is that many students will say they got on campus and found people like them, they walked through the halls and thought, my people are here.”

These meaningful relationships, combined with the shared academic and living experiences, empower students as they navigate the college experience and prepare for their future vocations. Even after one semester, the impact is palpable for students in the Christian Thought & Leadership LLC.

Finch concludes, “This is exactly where God wanted me to be.”

STORY: Dr. Colleen Arendt, Associate Professor of Communication Studies

PHOTOS: Courtney Place, Digital and Social Media Manager Drew Deas, Editorial Board Member