SEAHO Report - Summer 2024 - 36

The Key is Intentionality:
Building Better Programming During
the First Six Weeks of the Semesters
By: Emilee Duffy, Virginia Commonwealth University
Building community in the first six weeks of the fall semester is essential! Success may look different
depending on student population, building, type, and department expectations but at its core, a strong
community can be distilled into embracing intentionality. Weaving intentionality into your first six-week
programming plan will ensure hall staff greatly impacts students' sense of belonging.
Integrating intentionality means ensuring programming creates a supportive and engaging environment for
students to feel at home on campus. According to Levitz and Noel, " The freshman's most critical transition
period occurs during the first two weeks of the semester. " (1989, p.66) Not only is this important for firstyear
students acclimating to the campus environment for the first time, but building a sense of belonging
is vital throughout every year a student lives on campus. According to Tinto (2000), 5 conditions support
student success; expectations, support feedback, involvement, and relevant learning. The strategies I illustrate
below reflect the sentiments in these theories and will hopefully help you reimagine your programming plan.
My experiences creating programming for first-year and upperclassmen halls during the first 6 weeks have
provided a unique perspective on how to utilize team dynamics to begin supporting student success.
Establishing Hall Pride
Crafting impactful programming can be easier when a theme or goal is given as a guide. This can help
structure layers of engagement. For example, I oversaw an upperclassmen hall with a diverse resident
population. The hall was home to a leadership learning community, international students ages 18-45, and
a general population of sophomore-senior residents. To establish a sense of pride for the building, I took a
phrase many of my RAs had always used to describe the building and made that the building's brand. The
building was one of three on West Grace Street and my RAs would refer to our building as " West Grace Best
Grace. " Many residents who had lived in the building before also would colloquially refer to the building this
way. The RAs made pins that used this phrase to hand out to residents when they got their keys. The RAs
also used these pins for welcome programming. This also helped guide an overall vision for the year. RAs felt
grounded to a purpose and always circled back to the " West Grave Best Grace " sentiment when handling
difficult conflicts or creating programs.
Create Welcome Gifts or Guides
During my time managing an upperclassmen hall, I housed the largest international student population on
campus. When I inherited the building mid-way through the year prior, I received extensive feedback from
international students that they lacked a connection to campus. It became my mission to ensure that the new
international students arriving on campus at the start of the next academic year began making connections
immediately. One way I accomplished this was by creating a welcome guide to leave apartments before their
arrival. Using Canva to build our format, I created a booklet that included a campus map, instructions on how
to use the public bus system, resources to help them open a bank account, important campus resources,
information on the roles of residence life housing staff, and local community engagement opportunities.
Leaving the guide in the apartment before arrival immediately helped international students feel connected
to campus and cared for by hall staff.
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SEAHO Report - Summer 2024

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