TAKEN FROM A STORY , BY MADELINE SAULT CLASS OF ' 17 COLLEGE OF LIBERAL ARTS & HUMAN SCIENCES & PAMPLIN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS
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Pablo Tarazaga , assistant professor of mechanical engineering and principal faculty in the Myers-Lawson School of Construction , has been selected to serve as faculty principal for the Honors Residential Commons at East Ambler Johnson .
As a faculty principal , Tarazaga will live among students in the living-learning community and facilitate lectures , social activities , and educational programs that bring faculty and guests from around the world into the residential college .
“ Learning takes many forms and happens in many places ,” said Tarazaga . “ In the university setting , we want to make sure we value a comprehensive learned-life ; a place where we ourselves learn while at the same time showing others what that might embody . This is hard to do in a classroom-only setting . Students can learn many things from previous generations . In that aspect , we are all students . In a community , one of the greatest things I have learned is that failure is acceptable and valuable and common . In isolation , we just try to outdo each other ’ s accomplishments , but in community we hold strong .”
MOMENTUM SUMMER ' 17
East Ambler Johnson Hall offers a unique learning opportunity to the Virginia Tech community . Based on the residential college model , where undergraduates , graduate students , and faculty live together in a facility dedicated to knowledge , the learning-focused environment melds the residence hall experience with classroom learning while creating an academic “ family ” of mentors and students .
“ While ‘ dorms ’ have been seen as places for students to eat and sleep while getting an education , a residential college is designed to be part of the fabric of a student ’ s education ,” said Frank Shushok , senior associate vice president for Student Affairs and associate professor of higher education . “ Together , the diverse members of these living-learning communities will open up the intellectual habit of questions , discussions , and analysis they will take with them beyond Virginia Tech .”
East Ambler Johnson is home to more than 300 university honors students , led by an assistant principal , a live-in graduate fellow , and two undergraduate resident advisors .
“ My wife and children and I are looking forward to the many relationships that we hope to develop with the students , faculty , and staff . That is something we will cherish for the rest of our lives , and we are ready to get started ,” said Tarazaga . “ As I tell my graduate students , what we are building now is not only a degree for you , but a relationship for life . Today you are my student , tomorrow we are business partners , and in the future , who knows , you might be my daughter ’ s teacher .”
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Pablo Tarazaga , center , with university provost Thanassis Rikakis , left and university president Tim Sands , right , during the State of the University address in September 2016 . Tarazaga will become a faculty principal for the Honors Residential Commons at East Ambler Johnson this summer .
Tarazaga to lead Residential Commons