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It could be the time of your life: Augustana’s Residential Learning Experience

During a student’s first days in college, the questions are immediate: Can I be myself here? Who will be my friends? Will I be a good college student? What exactly is (are?) the liberal arts, anyway?

A great way to get answers, fit in and have fun is through Augustana’s living and learning community, the Residential Learning Experience (RLE). Seventeen students live in the same residence area, take their two first-year sequence courses together, and rely on each for everything from homework questions to good options for a Friday night. 

Natalia Perez
Natalia Perez

It was “the time of my life,” said Natalia Perez, a junior environmental studies major. She would recommend the RLE to any first-year student. 

“The nerves that everyone talks about when they try to meet people on their dorm floor were instantaneously fizzled. Because the people you live with are also in your classes, it was easy to go across the hall and talk to them.”

Perez and her RLE group hosted “family dinners” in the Andreen basement and took advantage of activities through the Office of Student Life and Leadership, such as bingo, movie nights, comedy shows, etc. 

“One of our favorite things to do was go to Zumba in the carriage house,” she said. 

Siksha Ramchurn
Siksha Ramchurn

Siksha Ramchurn ’23 also joined the Zumba sessions — along with Dr. Hua-Mei Chang, who taught one of the RLE first-year courses and served as their academic advisor.

All Augustana students take a series of foundational courses called First-Year Inquiry (FYI), introducing them to the liberal arts and building their critical thinking skills for college-level work. Students in the RLE have the benefit of taking the FYI sequence together.

“Being in a class where everyone already knows each other, especially during my first semester of college, was really a great advantage,” Ramchurn said. “It made our FYI classes more fun and engaging.” 

During her FYI intro to public health class, Ramchurn found her major. “The class was so engaging and we learned about things that I had always been curious about. My interest in the field could only grow after that.”
 

Adwoa Bawuah
Adwoa Bawuah

Adwoa Bawuah ’23 thought she knew her college majors when she started at Augustana: philosophy and pre-med. She wasn’t completely sure about the pre-med. 

“It was just something I wanted to do because it was suggested to me, and at that time I didn’t really have a clear idea of what I wanted to do in life.”

Along the way, she lost interest in it. So, she took advice she had heard from her RLE advisor, Dr. Brian Leech, and tried different course subjects with an open mind. That’s how she found political science—and the dream to study for the LSAT and continue to law school.

In the RLE, Bawuah realized she was not alone in being shy. She developed a stronger sense of her own abilities.

“It helped me with coming out of my shell. I was a really shy person, and I used to think for people a lot. I’d see someone and assume that they wouldn’t like me, or that they wouldn’t be open to who I am…. 

“But I realized that everybody is like other people, basically, and we should just give everybody the chance to show us who they are. I realized that we are human beings…we tend to make mistakes a lot, and I shouldn’t be too conscious of making mistakes. I should be more focused on what I want to achieve and whatever the goal is while I am speaking—my intention—and what I am trying to communicate to other people.”

Life in the RLE leads to social skills, confidence and a strong network. It builds a happy environment during a student’s first days and months on campus. All of this can be as valuable as scholarly achievement to a student’s future—starting with the college years.
 

Justin Vollmuth
Justin Vollmuth

Mathematics education major Justin Vollmuth ’23 thinks the main difference between the RLE and traditional residential life is that “the RLE program facilitates a floor identity and community.”

That welcoming community likely has influenced his own identity and sense of community. Today Vollmuth is a community advisor in the residence halls, helping students to balance living and learning.

How to apply

• Complete the RLE application. The deadline for priority consideration is June 13, so apply early!

• If you need special housing accommodations, complete the special accommodations request form.

Students selected to participate in the RLE will be notified in early July.

If you have questions, email or call Chris Beyer, 309-794-2686.