白兰地酒学院的学生们回顾了他们四年的校园住宿
When 宾州州立大学白兰地酒 opened its first residence hall in August 2017, 这是该校53年历史上的一个里程碑. 四年后, hundreds of students have spent at least some time living in the 250-bed Orchard Hall, 但自开业以来，至少有六人住在那里.
When 宾州州立大学白兰地酒 opened its first residence hall in August 2017, 这是该校53年历史上的一个里程碑. 四年后, hundreds of students have spent at least some time living in the 250-bed Orchard Hall, 但自开业以来，至少有六人住在那里.
为他们, 方便, 由此形成的友谊, and the independence have made their residential experience a hallmark of their time at Brandywine.
Three of the students who have lived in Orchard Hall since its opening came to Brandywine from varied distances: 妮可DiMauro is from Delaware County, where the campus is located; Jemimah Mwaba is from the state of Delaware; and Keiaisha Jackson is from South Carolina. 迪莫罗和姆瓦巴, 住在离家较近的地方是加分项, while Jackson was looking for a college experience that would take her to a new area.
“我想留在州内，我想离家近一点, 但我不想上下班,迪莫罗说. “So when I heard Brandywine was building a residence hall, it was like, "Oh, that's perfect. 他们有我需要的一切."
妮可DiMauro, 谁住在果园庄园四年了, wanted to stay relatively close to home while also having 方便 of living on campus.
图片来源:妮可DiMauro
“白兰地酒对我来说已经够远了, but it was also close enough for me to go back home on the weekends if I wanted,姆瓦巴说.
对于杰克逊来说，她的白兰地酒之旅更加偶然. 她对bck体育官网很感兴趣，正在考虑阿宾顿大学, 他们在2017年也开设了学生宿舍. When Abington’s housing filled up, Jackson was referred to the nearby Brandywine campus.
“宾西法尼亚 was far enough away that 我觉得 I was going to explore a different part of the country and kind of get outside of my comfort zone a bit,杰克逊说. Although she originally planned to transition to University Park for the “big college experience,” Jackson ultimately decided to complete her degree at Brandywine — deciding to stay because of her professors, 研究和实习机会, 以及她建立的联系.
Each student said she felt welcomed and formed friendships from the first semester.
迪莫罗说:“我进来的时候既紧张又兴奋. “但我真的很惊讶你建立一个朋友社区的速度有多快. We had a group of people that we were hanging out with within the first weekend. We moved in on Thursday and then Sunday we're hosting movie nights in my room. I thought that was incredible that we were able to build a community so fast with people that were on our floor.”
“我仍然记得我的第一年，”姆瓦巴说. “我觉得这是我经历过的最热情的欢迎. I think it might also have been because the halls were new, so everyone was so excited. And I also liked that it wasn't so big and you recognized everyone in the building.”
Jackson, too, appreciated the warm welcome she received as a first-year student.
“The RAs our first year did a great job of making sure everybody felt comfortable and it really felt like everyone was on the same playing field,”她说。. “所以，这是非常令人欣慰的. And then another thing I liked in previous semesters was going to events in the residence hall and really connecting with other students.”
DiMauro and Mwaba took their on-campus experience a step further by becoming resident assistants. 为他们, a key motivation for becoming an RA was to provide the same welcoming experience to incoming students that they received.
“I love every bit of this job,” said DiMauro, who is in her second year as an RA. “我喜欢这些节目. My first year I wasn’t as involved, but my sophomore year my RA was very present. I really looked up to him, and the Residence Life office kind of changed how I viewed living here. 我开始参加项目, and I participated in one program in particular that really helped me build my confidence. 我也想为其他住院医生做同样的事情.”
今年1月，姆瓦巴成为了一名驻地助理. She had an interest in the position from the beginning but was heavily involved with other campus activities her first two years.
“随着我的工作量和我的承诺开始减少, 我觉得, ‘Oh, 现在我有时间做这个了, 现在我可以成为RA了,’”她说。. “我想成为别人喜欢的人, “哦,是的, 当我来到bck体育官网时，我受到了热烈的欢迎,这就是为什么我想成为一名RA.”
伊丽莎白·卡恩斯, 布兰迪wine和阿宾顿的住房和食品服务主管, 看到了果园大厅给校园带来的积极变化吗, along with the new Student Union that opened at the same time and includes the dining hall.
“Orchard Hall was another step in providing a different service for our students,”她说。. “它为白兰地酒创造了以前没有的另一个维度, and some of the students who are graduating from Brandywine wouldn’t have picked our campus if there hadn’t been housing.”
有宿舍和学生会, 卡恩斯说:“现在的学生似乎逗留的时间更长了, 他们一起出去玩, 正常的一年里有很多社交活动. 他们是舒适的. They feel like it’s home, even the commuter students who use our dining hall. Brandywine has always had a sense of community, but the residence hall has deepened that.”
除了偶尔的小问题——一个不太理想的室友, for example — the students wholeheartedly encourage others to experience living on campus.
“I think for sure that living on campus should be an experience that many people should try at least once in their life,姆瓦巴补充道. “离开你的房子，和别人住在一起. 试一学期，一年. 我很高兴我和室友的所有经历都是积极的, because I'm really good at navigating personalities and conversations in that type of way."
“I'm really glad that I decided to take a chance and move here,杰克逊说. “I feel like just putting yourself out there and really trying to form connections will take you a long way. 果园大厅确实提供了很多这样做的机会.
“I was worried that being on a small campus was going to be too stifling and I would get bored, but Orchard Hall pulled through and I was able to form connections with residents who became best friends of mine. 我真的很喜欢这里的公共氛围.”
