Undergraduate Learning Communities

Below is a description of some of my previous work experience with undergraduate learning communities.

Learning Communities are initiatives in which undergraduate students take courses together, share a Peer Mentor, and meet regularly to learn about and discuss a particular subject of interest tot them. My work with Learning Communities began as an undergraduate intern for Dr. Rosanna Reyes while she was Assistant Director of the Office of Learning Communities at Rutgers University. In this capacity I worked specifically with Living-Learning Communities, which are learning communities where students live in residence together. The Living-Learning Community that I worked the most with is called the Discovery Houses. These are four Living-Learning Communities for first-year students, each specializing in introducing students to a particular field of interest (including Business, Health & Medicine, Psychology, and Law & Leadership). As undergraduate I supervised the Discovery Houses' Student Advisory Board, assisting them with planning their monthly events, publishing their seasonal newsletter, and worked as a liaison between them and the administrative offices. I also assisted with the annual hiring and training of the four Peer Mentors that lived in residence with each of the Discovery Houses. 

Later as a graduate student, I worked from 2011-2012 as a Learning Community Coordinator for the Discovery House Living-Learning Communities through the Office of Learning Communities working mainly with the Discovery House Living-Learning Community again as well as with the Social Justice Living-Learning Community created by the Office of Social Justice Education & LGBT Communities. In this capacity I was responsible for overseeing the application and selection process for students interested in the Living-Learning Communities and the Peer Mentors that assisted them. I also worked with an undergraduate intern who took over my responsibilities for the Student Advisory Board while I supervised the Peer Mentors. I was responsible for the oversight and budget for all events in the Discovery Houses, including an annual recognition program for all members involved in the Living-Learning Communities. Additionally, I worked with the faculty members that taught the shared courses that the Discovery House students took.

The Office of Learning Communities at Rutgers University is now housed under Residence Life. To learn more about Learning Communities at Rutgers University please click the button below.