At Virginia Tech, a new Residential Well-being initiative offers a proactive approach to bring holistic well-being and student success right to students’ doors, according to director Rebecca Caldwell. Trained student leaders – 251 of them – focus on inclusion and belonging, well-being and student engagement. They work within smaller campus communities that are each supported by professional case managers, well-being coordinators, ExperienceVT coordinators and embedded counselors.

“Rather than expecting the students to find Virginia Tech’s world-class campus experiences on their own, we are surrounding the student with the key elements of first-year success inside of their living environment,” said Caldwell. “The focus is care and relationships, while connecting students early to our campus wide web of resources and experiences.”

“We can’t just assume that because a student shows up to Virginia Tech that they will immediately feel a sense of place,” said Chris Wise, assistant vice president for Student Affairs’ health and wellness areas. “We must reach out to students and develop relationships with them, have them develop relationships with each other, so they can feel welcome, included, and a part of their new community.” 

Read more about this new initiative here.