The purpose of the LSEM course was to help make students feel more at home at Longwood University, and to better develop students knowledge of the resources available to them. The honors version of the course also had the added benefit of further explaining the additional resources open to honors students, while also diving into some of the requirements for a continued membership in the honors college. However I also gained something more from that class than a simple understanding of where to go when I have a question or if I need to print something. I also gained a sense of comradery.   

The class by spending as much time on group discussions as it did lecturing, allowed for students to hear from and meet students, who in a traditional lecture classroom setting they may never have met. This resulted in the class becoming more tightly knit than any other class I had while in college. Through this course I met many individuals who became close friends of mine. And while perhaps making new friends was the not intended goal of this class, by facilitating an environment where such a thing was possible, the class help achieve it’s goal of helping me feel more at home at my new school.

Attached above I have a photo of a commemorative jar that the mentor for my LSEM class made. She made a jar for every student in the class so that they would never forget about the class or anyone who was in it. This examples the sense of community that was ingrained into everyone who took part in this class.