Resident Philosophy
The primary reason people attend college or university is to learn, receive a degree and pursue career goals. Naturally, academic learning takes place in the classroom. However, much of the life learning & character formation required for students to become healthy adults takes place beyond the four walls of the classroom. For Residence Life, the residence hall is the classroom, and our living communities provide context for critical life learning to take place.
The Department of Residence Life at Biola University strongly believes that learning takes place within the living communities of our residents. A student’s living environment has an unparalleled effect on their academic, spiritual, social, and developmental experience.
Our Residence Life personnel are committed to cultivating self-awareness and character growth in our students by providing resources, directing honest conversations, and modeling healthy relationships, within the residential community so that they are prepared to authentically and lovingly engage the world. Simply stated, we exist to fulfill this mission.
Five specific program objectives (goals) govern every interaction we have with our residents. Through living within Biola’s residential communities, we desire our students to develop a commitment to the following:
- Self-awareness
- Character Development (moral, virtue, ethics)
- Healthy Relating
- Skillful Communication
- Community Engagement
With every conversation we have, discipline issue we oversee, program we plan, or meeting we facilitate, we intentionally seek to see these goals brought to life in our residents.
One of the main ingredients of our rich heritage of well-rounded quality graduates is our investment in them and their participation in our residential communities for their entire education. As a result, we have a freshman and sophomore residential requirement and a residential community that includes freshman as well as seniors.
Upon graduation, our ultimate desire is to see students who have grown in the character of Christ which would be evidenced in their ability to love their neighbor. Through our mission, objectives and values we seek to provide this opportunity for every student living in our residential communities.
Rachel Clark
Director of Residence Life
Beth Born
Associate Dean of Residence Life
"I just wanted to post something showing appreciation for the floor that I live on in Emerson known as GUS (Guys Upstairs). It was really amazing during the first semester of college to get the chance to live on a relatively small floor in Emerson. I had the chance to make some lasting friendships with some really cool guys. We pretty much do everything together: eat, study, hang out, play sports, and also play Wii sports. I think we have had conversations on pretty much every conceivable topic that is humorous, religious, serious, or oddly enough, some combination of the three. One cool part about our floor is that doors are rarely closed. Every bodyÕs door usually stays open until they go to bed, so if you are done studying and are bored, you can just walk down the hall, and youÕll always find someone else to just chill with. We do lots of crazy stuff too. LetÕs just say that one of the guys on the floor can make trebuchets. Anyway, now we just have to decide if weÕre going to all stay on the floor next year. I hope we do."
– Nick, Political Science
