Chris Grusenmeyer and Katie Stoll, both UA students who are studying engineering, are among a group of freshmen living in the University's newest living-learning community.
On the 20-year anniversary of opening its first living-learning community, The University of Arizona is introducing another student-focused wing.
The UA’s oldest living-learning community – the Honors Hall at Yuma Residence Hall – was introduced in 1998. For a group of freshmen studying engineering, the UA has added a living-learning community at Gila Hall, also home to a wing for Women in Science and Engineering, or the W.I.S.E. program.
Reasons for introducing the engineering wing, called the Engineering Zone, include the need to help such students grow and develop personally, socially and in their academic and professional careers.
“The community was created to get freshmen who are pre-engineering students to be aware of all the options available to them,” said Pam Obando, associate director for Residence Life. “We also want to address some of the special challenges they face.”
Because engineering programs are often demanding and strenuous, the hope is that the living-learning community will also help to retain students.
“It helps them to see that there is someone else who is struggling through their courses,” said Joseph Embacher, the residence hall’s community director and a master’s student in the University’s higher education program.
Nationally, engineering programs struggle retaining students. At the same time, engineering is one of the nation’s in-demand “STEM” fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – such a community is even more important to retaining and graduating University students.
“We’re really hoping for great things to come out of it and that the students have a good experience,” said Susan Bowers, the UA College of Engineering’s assistant director for recruitment and outreach.
The same goes for other living-learning in halls across campus.
Half of UA’s residence halls have such a community with focus areas such as fine arts, the health professions or, as in the case of a community that opened last year, pre-education.
The Engineering Zone will operate much like the others on the UA campus. With more than 30 pre-engineering majors, the students live in a wing of Gila Hall, which also contains a living-learning community for students in the UA’s Women in Science and Engineering, or W.I.S.E., program.
Students will form cohorts and take classes together, will network together, have in-house tutoring opportunities and participate in clubs and organizations devoted to the engineering profession.
Katie Stoll, a freshman studying chemical engineering and theater technology, said she applied to live in the community for the support and camaraderie.
“I wanted to be here,” she said, “because there are a bunch of engineers in one space relying on each other for studying and for a connection.”
Pam Obando
Residence Life
520-621-6200