Around this time of year, students are in the process of choosing where they want to live next semester, and many are considering the Living and Learning Villages. These villages have been shown to help students earn a higher GPA, get them more involved with their university and bring a higher school retention percentage.

In the fall of 2013, University Housing will include three new learning and living villages: Engineering Village, Wood Wellness Village and EcoVillage. These new villages, along with the older ones, give N.C. State students more opportunities to find their perfect fit for a community.

Engineering Village

The new Living and Learning village for first year engineering students is called the Engineering Village and is located in Metcalf Residence Hall. 

“I was very involved with living learning programs at my undergraduate institution, and absolutely believe that they make a positive impact on students,” Lisa Latronica, the residence director of Metcalf, said. “Integrating academics with experiences outside the classroom is key for student success.”

Along with their required introduction to Engineering courses, residents of the village participate in 12 village-related experiences during each semester. 

Wood Wellness Village

The Wood Wellness Village is a new village located in Wood Residence Hall that is open to all N.C. States students and advocates healthy lifestyles.

“We know we have a lot of students who have a high passion in living healthy lifestyles and we figured the wellness village would be a good fit for our campus,” Hazael Andrew, the assistant director of the Wood hall, said.

Students in the village will take PE 295, have a student mentor and attend programs such as outdoor trips and activities, meditation and stress reduction lessons and group fitness programs.

EcoVillage

EcoVillage will be located in Bragaw Residence Hall. Students in the EcoVillage will be able to engage with faculty members in order to explore local, regional and global methods to improve environmental issues and advance sustainability.

“The EcoVillage is truly a place where students will establish an agenda and community plan to support the exploration society’s environmental challenges,” Bryan Botts, assistant director of Bragaw, said.

This village welcomes students of any year and major. They will focus on sustainable energy consumption and agriculture, as well as transportation and recycling.

IMPACT Leadership Village

The IMPACT Leadership Village, located in Bowen Residence Hall, focuses on developing first and second year students’ leadership skills.  It is an interdisciplinary learning and living village, which means that they have students from different backgrounds, majors and perspectives come together in this leadership-based village.

“The IMPACT Leadership Village is my second home,” Ali Sajjad, a sophomore in psychology, said. “One thing I love about the village is the different opinions and views that people bring in. As a leader, one must learn to accept different opinions and perspectives, and I feel as though the village really did a good job with that.”

SAY Village

The Students Advocating for Youth Village, located in Syme Residence Hall, provides first-year students of any major to make an impactful difference in their community. Each student in the SAY Village becomes a youth advocate where they develop a year-long, mentoring relationship with a selected “mentee,” who is a fourth or fifth grade student.

“I decided to join SAY Village because I wanted the opportunity to work with underserved kids and hopefully make a positive impact on their lives,” Danielle Smith, a freshman in Elementary Education, said.

WISE Village

The Women in Science and Engineering Village, located in Lee Residence Hall, is a living and learning community for first and second-year students in the Colleges of Agriculture & Life Sciences, Engineering, Natural Resources, Physical & Mathematical Sciences, and Textiles.

“The village is helpful coming in as a freshman because you have mentors who can tell you what classes to take or not take and they can give you help,” Christine Guseman, a freshman in engineering, said.

The WISE Village also offers a speaker series that highlights women and their successful careers in science and engineering, provides tutoring, study groups, social and cultural events, professional development opportunities, faculty dinners, community service and K-12 outreach opportunities.