Living in the Residence Halls? How G-CORE Is Building Community There and Beyond

Learning at Grinnell doesn’t just happen in the classroom.

That is what Mfon Nwabuoku, associate director of residence life (RESLIFE) and student conduct had in mind when she helped curate a purposeful residential experience program with JC Lopez, vice president of student affairs.

G-CORE, or the Grinnell Community Residential Experience, has a few missions, but at its “core,” it intentionally creates an environment to inspire learning, personal growth, and community connections.

“Grinnell is a mainly residential campus,” says Nwabuoku. “What do we want residents to have learned outside of the classroom in four years?”

Under the G-CORE program, students can uncover different pockets of Grinnell’s campus, explore connections with fellow resident hallmates, and learn about different resources available to them.

Belonging and Connection in the Residence Halls and Beyond

One of the main aspects of G-CORE is connected to the College’s strategic plan to strengthen belonging and connection among community members on campus. With G-CORE’s framework, every student is set up to connect with at least one person in their living space, such as with their community advisors (CAs), who are students themselves.

CAs, along with non-student residential life coordinators (RLCs), are trained to create meaningful conversations with their constituents, encourage students to come out of their shells, and build intentional spaces on their hall floors.

“The role of community advisors is multifaceted,” explains Lopez. “It requires being a resource, role model, facilitator, and community builder. They help build positive connections and relationships to support their residents.”

When training the CAs, Nwabuoku says she likes to explain G-CORE and its strategies with its ‘why.’ For example, why take the time to curate door decorations for students coming to live in the residence halls?

“How does it make you feel to come in the first day of school,” Nwabuoku prompts, “and someone has taken the time out to design something and put it on your door to welcome you, to create something unique to you? It provides a sense of welcome.”

As students settle into their residence halls, G-CORE inspired students to think about their group identities with a program called, “This is Us.” Together, the students were tasked to design an emblem or a logo that would represent their identity as a community.

“The idea was to get the students talking to one another and have them work towards a mutual understanding, a set goal,” shares Nwabuoku.

Afterward, the designs were sent out to Grinnell’s entire campus for a vote — and the winning hall cluster won a delicious pizza party. Once Family Weekend rolled around, the logos and emblems were displayed again, this time for their parents to see.

Now, certain residence halls have created unique floor traditions to continue nourishing their initial connections. One South Campus hall, for instance, enjoys a weekly Saturday pancake breakfast, while another hall on North Campus enjoys a weekly dining hall meal with their floor.

“Sharing experiences with your community and the opportunity to foster new connections is very valuable for our campus,” remarks Lopez. “I appreciate that residents can shape the traditions with CAs and RLCs based on their community’s interests.”

Two weeks ago, residence halls also participated in “Game Day Fuel,” meant to support athletics and increase spectatorship. “We hosted pre-game events to get people excited about the game,” says Nwabuoku. “We then all walked over to the game together to get into that mindset of ‘We are all in this together.’”

G-CORE is intentional every step of the way, setting up specific approaches outside their residence hall community. Most recently, RESLIFE collaborated with Student Health and Wellness (SHAW) for World Mental Health Day on Oct.10. During the event, counselors from SHAW spent time at the residence halls and invited students to chat with them over snacks.

Nwabuoku shares that the event not only inspired connections where they wouldn’t normally take place, but also deconstructed the divide that can exist between counseling, mental health, and asking for help. “The focus was really, ‘it’s okay to talk to a counselor,” says Nwabuoku. “Meanwhile, students were also learning information about mental health resources and building community with a new set of people in their living spaces.”

G-CORE also inspires students to relate and develop a new understanding of each other. Though custodial staff and students might not normally conversate during a busy day, G-CORE set time aside for a coffee brewing event, where students could sit down, chat, and enjoy coffee with their custodial staff and one another.

This type of relationship building reminds students that custodial staff are their campus partners, too, says Nwabuoku. “If we can encourage our students to see the custodial staff as human beings — and not elves — that clean up after them, that creates a continuous process of community building. So, when a student thinks of a particular custodial staff — as an example, Robin or Tammy — who has to clean up after them, that maybe prompts the student to think, ‘Oh, I don’t want to have to put her through that.’”

Through different programming and constant learning within relationships with one another, G-CORE encourages students to think and learn more about who they wish to become as both individuals and community members. As students become empowered by multiple, diverse voices around them, they can be inspired to create a mutual environment filled with mutual trust, understanding, and care.

“Once again,” says Nwabuoku, “the idea is to show students and the entire community that we are all one.”