At the beginning of the semester, an email was sent to the Saint

Anselm campus community announcing the temporary move

of the Office of Residential Life and Education.

Although it’s not the biggest change on campus, like the addi-

tion of Joseph Hall and Alumni Streets as freshman dorms, which

in turn changed the location of many offices, it is definitely an

important one!

Once located in the lower level of the student center, the Office

of Residential Life found that more privacy and functionality

was needed, and decided to join forces with Campus Ministry in

Suite 109 of the student center to enhance the missions of both

offices.

Although the move may be confusing to some people, as people

might think those offices have nothing to do with each other, to

Residential Life and Campus Ministry, it completely makes sense.

Many people first think of Residential Life as living in a dorm on

campus, and that is part of it, but not all. The Office of Residential

Life works to create housing for students, but it also supports stu-

dent success and builds community.

This means hiring other students to become mentors that

live with students (aka residential assistants or RA’s), and offering

other opportunities and events to help build the community of stu-

dents living on campus.

Similarly, the Campus Ministry office creates opportunities that

help build community within the students, especially within their

faith. They provide guidance through faith during a time where many

people have a hard time figuring out where they stand with reli-

gion. Along with guidance, they help foster growth within the stu-

dents.

Both offices are taken advantage by students all over campus, with

all different kinds of needs. The missions of both offices support

and help students at the college through many means like spir-

itual care and mission-centered ideals, along with opportunities to

connect to the Saint Anselm community and the wider Manchester

and New Hampshire community. As said in the email, “this shared

space opens the door to deeper integration and synergy in that

work”.

Along with the move, the previous space of the Office of Residen-

tial Life has found new meaning. This space has now become an

extra study space for all students, as our population has greatly

increased with the largest incoming class of freshman in campus

history.

It is also becoming a space for commuter carrels, which will sup-

port our commuting students. As defined by the email, a study carrel

is a “small, individual study space”, and will support students and give

them a quiet area to focus on classwork and homework, research, or

studying.

More information is coming

soon on when you can reserve

a time to use the carrels, so stay

tuned!

All of these changes have

been made in direct response to

requests from the students at Saint

Anselm for more accessible and

flexible spaces on campus, which

once again, is a need due to our

growing population.

The Office of Residential Life

hopes to become more efficient,

collaborate in new ways, and take

new approaches to the service of

their mission, and is looking for-

ward to their new home for the

next few years with Campus Min-

istry.

They are grateful for the Ansel-

mian community who has con-

tinued to support them, and is

excited to further build their com-

munity.