The high ceilings, the wooden floors, and having Sonya Alexander as your Area Coordinator are some of the perks that come with living in the Service For Justice Residential College.
The Service For Justice Residential College, or as the residents call it S4J, is a sophomore living community with the mission of bringing justice to those in need through service. There may be a few misconceptions about living in a residential college as a sophomore, but I’m here to clear those up. Here are the benefits of living in ~S4J~.
1. Retreat, AKA Fall/Winter Getaway People see the word retreat and want to run for the hills thinking that it’s associated with religion. THAT’S FALSE IN THIS CASE! Fall Getaway happens in September and Winter Getaway happens in January. The purpose of these ~getaways~ is to bond as a community and start to think about the questions that the residential college is based on such as: Who am I? Whose am I? How am I called to serve justice? These questions may seem simple to answer, but after some reflection and deep exploration of one’s self, you come to he conclusion that they aren’t so easy.
2 . Mentor Groups The mentoring communities consist of about 10 students, one alumni mentor and one mentor for each group. These groups meet once a month for about an hour and talk about current events, the topic of the month, or anything that the group feels like exploring. I had such a great experience in my mentor group that I decided to become an alumni mentor. An alumni mentor is a student mentor that has lived in the community and has gone through the program. My job is to help lead the discussion with my mentor and propose questions to the group to keep the conversation lively.
3 .Munchie Mondays Every Monday at 10 p.m. it’s Munchie Monday in the first floor lounge! The RAs host a food social for everyone in the community. Its always a fun time to get together with your friends in the building and catch up on the weekend or how your Monday classes went. My advice is get there at 9:45 because food goes fast! Especially on mozzarella sticks night.
4. Forums Sophomore year can be a confusing year for many. Internship questions as well as minor questions are all up in the air. Something really special about S4J are the forums they host, where the RAs bring someone to talk to the students of the community. It’s not a mandatory event but its there if you wish to attend. Topics range between current events to career questions to guest campus partners.
5. RAs are your friends Freshmen year, most students avoid their RAs at all costs. They are seen as the bad guy and the one that will get you into trouble. In the residential colleges, that is not the case at all! My sophomore year RAs were great! A quick shout out to Kaadi, Aimee, Heather and Austin for being the best pals! I remember two instances where I was stuck in town where the Stag bus had broken down. I gave Heather and Austin a quick call, and they came to pick me up. Heather was my floor RA and we had such an incredible friendship that we now both lead a mentoring community together. Aimee was always around to have a heart-to-heart and Kaadi was always a person to check in with to see how my day was going.
I had the pleasure of living in this community as a sophomore and I can truly say it was a great experience. Yes, the constant food was amazing but I learned so much about myself, and where I wanted to go in life. It was because of the S4J program that I took a woman in literature class that set the framework for my Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies minor. I also met great friends that became my roommates now a junior living in the apartments. Sophomore year is tough, but being part of community like S4J makes it all worthwhile.