Momentum - The Magazine for Virginia Tech Mechanical Engineering Vol. 4 No. 4 Winter 2019 | Page 23

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to include students who remained on campus
during breaks. Using a secure messaging plat-
form, the family created a group called “Taraz-
aga Family Happenings” to invite residents to
participate in daily activities like walks with
the dog, outdoor games, visits to the farmers’
market, or crafts in the apartment. In an
elementary school parking lot before one of
the children’s soccer games, the students even
staged a surprise tailgate party—complete
with a grill, music, and a large Hokie cheering
section.
And on the night before final exams last
May, 50 students lined up inside the Taraz-
aga's apartment where the family served
Breakfast for Dinner—pancakes, waffles, and
mini-quiches—assembly-line style.
“They’re like parents away from home,” said
Devon Barbour, a junior physics major who
is spending her third year in the HRC because
of the Tarazagas. “They welcome us into their
home. They’ve made us such an intimate part
of their lives. They give so much to this com-
munity and don’t ask for anything in return.”
Taking a break from manning the pancake
grill, the Tarazagas observed the students
congregating at their long dining table.
“It’s been a blessing,” said Vanessa. “The
students really embraced our family. Our kids
love it. They say they never want to leave.”
“We didn’t realize the extent to which those
great relationships would develop,” added
Pablo. “We do life together. It’s walking with
the students in the formation of who they are.
For me, this is very fulfilling way of being a
professor.”
From “crazy” to coveted
When Frank Shushok introduced the
residential college model at Virginia Tech in
2009, the reception was cautiously optimistic.
“People said the idea that faculty might
want to live with our students was crazy,”
said Shushok, senior associate vice president
for student affairs and associate professor of
higher education. “What
we’re finding is it’s having
as profound of an impact on
faculty as it does on students.
Many of our faculty are
saying it’s the single most
powerful and influential
experience in strengthening
the way they teach and their
empathy and understanding
of students. They love being
invested in students’ lives in
a longitudinal way.”
Today, 37 percent of the
university’s on-campus students reside in liv-
ing-learning programs. Nearly 1,500 students
live in the university’s three residential col-
leges: the HRC, led by Tarazaga; the Residen-
tial College at West Ambler Johnston, led by
associate professor of history Danna Agmon;
and the Leadership and Social Change Resi-
dential College, led by assistant professor of
landscape architecture C.L. Bohannon MLA
’04, Ph.D. ’14.
Another 2,950 students live in living-learn-
ing communities (LLCs), student communi-
ties that unite residents in common interests
and disciplines, like engineering, the arts,
or the Corps of Cadets. Each offers ongoing
opportunities for students and faculty to
spend meaningful time together. For example,
faculty and staff may join LLC students in the
residential environment to teach a class, pro-
vide mentoring and advising, or participate in
social and academic activities.
By 2025, Virginia Tech aims to provide
living-learning programs for 65 percent of
on-campus students. The university’s Master
Plan includes the addition of eight new LLPs
that will house 3,400 students over the next
decade. In Virginia Tech’s Creativity and
Innovation District, construction is underway
for an LLP slated to accommodate 600 stu-
dents with interests in the arts, technology,
and entrepreneurship in 2021.
Shushok says living-learning programs not
Frank Shushok, inter-
im vice president for
student affairs.