Buoyed
by the success of the First Year Residents
Succeeding Together (FYRST) Program,
FIU has expanded the scope of its living
and learning communities.
"Living and learning concepts
have been around institutions for a while now at residential colleges," said Gisela
Vega, assistant director of Residential Life. "We started our first living and
learning community about five years ago, and we've added four more since that
time."
Five
years ago, FIU launched the FYRST Program, an initiative in which first-year students
take part in a residential program designed to assist freshmen in achieving a
smooth transition from high school to college.
"The
staff is attuned to their needs, both academically and socially," said Vega. "It's
a community based on their needs."
The
program began with approximately 35 residents. This year, the program has expanded
to include more than 100 students at University Park and approximately 20 students
at Biscayne Bay Campus, which is offering the program for the first time this
year.
"Living/learning
initiatives are really community-based education within the residence halls,"
said Vega. "What we try to do is provide opportunities for residents to interact
with other individuals in their program or with individuals who share similar
interests.
"That's
important because the residents who are in these programs together have a connection
with one another," continued Vega. "We've also opened options to have classes
for these communities taught in the building, so obviously that brings benefits
along with it as well. It creates an atmosphere more conducive to learning where
students can interact in the classroom with faculty and peers whom they also know
outside of the classroom."
FIU
currently has five living and learning programs: the FYRST Program; the Honors
Community, which is called Honors Place; the Leaders-in-Residence Program, a new
collaborative effort with the Center for Leadership Development and Civic Responsibility;
the Music Community, a 
collaborative effort with the School of Music; and the new Wellness
Community at Biscayne Bay Campus, a collaborative effort with FIU's Health Care
and Wellness Center.
"Feedback
from our Leaders-in-Residence Program has been extremely positive students
enjoy being a part of a special community," said Vega. "And we've noticed that
many of our FYRST students tend to take leadership roles within the University
once they leave FYRST." F 
ormer Student Government Association President Patrice Scipio is
a former FYRST resident and FYRST mentor, a complementary component to the program.
In addition
to providing opportunities for residents to interact with individuals of similar
interests, the programs are designed to bring academics back into the residence
halls.
"We firmly believe that education doesn't
stop in the classroom, and within these
residential halls there's so much education
that goes on," 
said Vega. "We believe
that by working with the faculty, whether
it's through the music program or honors
program or other programs that we develop
in the future, it will help our students
be more well-rounded individuals. And
it gives students the opportunity to
interact with faculty outside the classroom
setting. That's why we call them living
and learning communities."
Vega said the Department of Housing
and Residential Life hopes to develop
a faculty associates program, which
would be an "official" way of facilitating
additional involvement between faculty
and students.
To that end, the department hosted a luncheon
for 50 faculty earlier this year who were identified by the students as "being
extremely helpful and open to their concerns in the classroom."
"This was our way of recognizing
them and letting them know we appreciate the time spent with our residents," said
Vega.
"These
types of living/learning communities are not new in fact, many institutions
throughout the country have begun to establish these types of programs
but they are new to FIU," explained Vega. "There's a strong push to help develop
a community at FIU, and by bringing academics and learning initiatives in our
residences together, we're taking a step in the right direction."
