The Honors College LLC is located in Eastern Shore. Students in the LLC are all in the Honors College and they interact daily. Photo by Stephen Kline
George Mason University is home to 13 Living Learning Communities, each of which offer many benefits for residents who join them. LLCs are sections of resident housing, sometimes even whole floors, where students with similar interests and majors elect to live near each other.
Enrollment into an LLC is not described as a complicated procedure.
When students sign up for on-campus housing, they have the opportunity to join one. After submitting the general housing application, residents must also complete a separate LLC application where they answer three questions: why they wish to join the LLC, how it will help them in their future career and something unique about themselves.
After this process, candidates may then have to attend interviews to determine if they are a good fit for the LLC of their choice.
In addition, residents may be required to attend summer orientation and the LLC Brunch, as well as attend classes pertinent to the LLC of which they belong.
“We’re really tight knit,” said art and visual technology major Jenna Krashin, who is a member of the Mindful Living LLC. “We have class once a week, and we go on retreats … [The upper classmen are] going on another one in about a month.”
LLCs can have a positive impact on a resident’s social life. They serve as an alternative to joining a fraternity or sorority.
“You can have a great social life without having to go Greek,” Krashin said. The Mindful Living LLC parties together, celebrates holidays, and holds study sessions and movie nights. Its members are also planning to engage in a community service project.
Charles Coats, RA of the Sustainability LLC, agrees that students in an LLC get along well. “They [seemed to] have this interconnectedness before they even met each other,” said Coats, a junior global and environmental change major. “Before they even got here, they knew they were going to be living on a floor with people that have similar values and majors.”
However, Coats denies that being interconnected is something that is unique to being in an LLC. “It starts with the RA; every floor on this campus is a community,” said Coats. “It takes one leader to step up and make sure the community understands and values each other.”
Even so, being part of an LLC is a good opportunity for students to meet people who are like-minded, and can also lead to lasting relationships, both professional and personal. “The people in the LLC are really my best friends, and that’s what’s great about it,” Krashin said.
Any resident interested in an LLC is encouraged to contact the Office of Housing and Residence Life.
Comments