Community of Character

With warmth and acceptance, my community believes in the power of love to succeed in life. In this community, I serve the role of a freshman student who knows all the following information about the University because it is all on the surface. As I enter the campus and navigate through the different teams, departments, and faculties, more and more it feels like a dream come true.

My University is a community of character that clearly demonstrates how it cares about all community members. From the campus police department, health services, and the Dean’s office to more unique faculties like daycare for pets, the community exemplifies character. 

Campus police

I’ll start with the campus police because security is important to ensure the safety of all community members, including in life-or-death situations. Campus police are not armed with deadly weapons. They do, however, have body cameras to capture their activity and behavior.

They are trained and ready to act in dangerous situations. But they also receive training in mental health and de-escalating situations, and they are encouraged to apply this training first and foremost. Not only are campus police officers well-versed in federal and state laws, as well as University policy, but they also know how to differentiate right from wrong.

 As such, if they learn about a student who may not be acting illegally or against University policy but is acting unethically, they know to refer this student to counseling. 

Campus police are not there to make their own community members afraid of them. Instead, many community members have even become close friends with campus police because they have been there, intervened, and provided protection when no one else could. 

Importantly, campus police know when to show compassion. Many situations facing campus police are not black and white, which is why each situation should be evaluated independently unless there is a clear pattern of abuse, negligence, etc. that needs to be urgently addressed. 

Compassion is a common theme across the community. This is because this community serves as a network of support. People go through all kinds of difficulties in life and this community is not only aware of this, but it is also there to provide the support to overcome such difficulties. 

Counseling services

The place within the community where compassion may be the most needed is counseling services. In my community, this is exactly the case. Our counselors are like your best friend. 

They get to know you on a personal level, including your dreams and aspirations, and your fears and regrets. They hold your hand and give you a tissue or a pat on the back if you need it. In counselors’ offices, you will see posters on the walls with motivational and aspirational quotes. 

The counselors truly care about each and every person that goes through their hands. They have a specific number they hand out in case someone needs to reach them at a later time. 

Like campus police, counselors are also trained in mental health and de-escalating situations.

They know how to act in accordance with University policy. But they also know how to act in a person’s best interest. Your gain is their gain and your pain is their pain. They will go out of their way to help you, whether it is about making a decision in your personal life or about your health. 

Peer support

Similarly, my community prides itself on having a peer support group. It’s important for members of the community to know that they have a multitude of options for sharing their experiences and seeking reliable guidance, whether it be for their personal lives or their academic lives. 

Our peer support workers know how to provide support for those in need because they have lived through the experience themselves. They have faced the same or similar challenges as the peers they are there to help, offering compassion, empathy, and understanding, and providing practical advice based on their own personal experience. They are there not only for their peers, but also for their family members, and other members of a support network. 

The therapy our peer support workers provide helps people understand what they are going through, including their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, in a healthy way. As such, they collaborate closely with those that they help so that, together, they can work on developing goals, creating self-empowerment strategies, and taking concrete steps toward what their self-fulfillment means. They meet on a routine basis to check in on how everything is going. 

They use phrases, such as, “You’re not alone,” “I believe in you,” and “If I can do it, so can you.” 

Meetings of peer support groups are also offered on a regular basis. The groups have specific topics they address, and peer support workers arrange activities to help facilitate a dynamic meeting. Attendees are welcome to bring up discussions of their choosing, also. Everything that is discussed during these meetings remains confidential, as is the case when meeting with counselors. These policies are clearly vocalized and stated in meeting materials ahead of time. 

Peer-to-peer support is crucial to the community due to its power to alleviate symptoms of mental health and its potential to help people achieve personal and professional success. 

Health services

This leads me to another crucial component of the community, namely the health services department. Like in the case of counseling services, when you walk into the building for health services, the person at the desk welcomes you with a friendly smile and a, “How can I help you today?” The staff is eager to help expeditiously, which is so important when it comes to health. 

All the health staff is well-versed in a wide range of conditions, including mental health, though there is a separate unit dedicated to mental health. The emphasis on mental health is a priority in my community, as situations due to the mental health crisis can lead to so many tragedies. 

All across the health facilities, you will see posters and the like about seeking help and/or attention, as well as information about different conditions and the potential consequences.

Public health is also a priority for the community, so diagnoses such as an STD are required to be reported. The staff is trained on how to do so while protecting patient privacy, however. 

The health staff takes its duties very seriously, so their certifications are always up-to-date. 

The passion and devotion of the counseling and health teams are so strong that they know students by their names, as well as personal details that they ask about to show that they care.

Teaching faculty 

The teaching faculty do this, also, at times to an even greater degree. Professors learn how to foster the educational prowess of their students, encouraging them to take part in extracurricular activities, such as joining clubs. They take an interest in why their students chose to study what they are studying and go out of their way to ensure their educational goals are achieved. 

Professors take the time to sit and talk with each student individually to understand their unique needs and challenges. But questions raised during these meetings may be addressed during class, as well, in case others have the same or similar questions and have yet to raise them, or do not want to for afraid of being judged, for example. This approach will help the entire group.

Professors also demonstrate compassion for their students. When meeting with their students, they are to make students feel comfortable to speak openly and honestly. Work-life balance has become more widely accepted in recent years. But school-life balance is also upheld in my community, as there are many different circumstances that can be going on in a student's life. 

As such, my community does believe education should be a top priority. But a student’s own health and wellbeing and/or the health and well-being of a loved one is one example of a competing priority, where the latter should take precedence over the former in my community. 

Further, students have the flexibility of proposing alternatives to assignments. These are subject to the evaluation of the professor, which ultimately makes the decision, but allowing students to propose their own approach fosters their creativity and may even allow the professor to learn. 

Dean’s office 

Professors’ doors are always open. At the Dean’s office, the door is always open, also. The Dean is as friendly as they come. At a lot of Universities, no one even gets to ever see the Dean. Not in my community. In my community, the Dean is always at everyone’s disposal. 

The Dean demonstrates that he cares by being transparent about University proceedings. He also personally commends students and other community members for their achievements. His secretary is diligently keeping track of his agenda to ensure that he is upholding the standards of the community by being at the right place at the right time for the right person and/or reason.  

Library 

The library provides all the necessary resources to pursue academic achievements. The staff here is welcoming and friendly. Their compassion is shown by helping the various community members with all their needs. The respect for this environment is demonstrated by being quiet to allow those who chose to study independently to do so without being disturbed or interrupted. 

The library also fosters collaboration, a key factor in many people’s educational endeavors. It does so by providing study groups with a multitude of rooms that can be reserved ahead of time, but do not have to be. These groups are stocked with books on the fundamentals of various academic topics, writing utensils, and notebooks, as well as whiteboards and markers. 

The University community is also respectful of the high-tech facilities that provide computers, printers, and the like. The tech rooms, or computer labs, have posters with instructions on how to use these technologies. They are monitored by staff that ensures the safe and appropriate use of these technologies, and users are respectful of the policies, including no food or drinks. 

Cafeteria 

This leads me to the cafeteria. The staff at the cafeteria and the people served show mutual respect. This includes respect for one’s health by providing a variety of healthy food choices. 

What one consumes is an important part of the type of healthy environment that the community encourages. As such, the healthy options not only include homemade meals but also alternatives to certain products, including whole milk, which has been linked to health issues. 

Food, including in a cafeteria, brings people together to converse, commemorate, and more. So do events. In my community, events are an important part of fostering a sense of belonging and pride. This, in turn, promotes trustworthiness, respect, and honesty, among other values. 

Events 

School dances, parades, talent shows, and outdoor movie screenings are some examples of the events my community has. These, importantly, are also fun, which is needed to maintain a happy and healthy lifestyle, which, in turn, helps students achieve their self-fulfillment goals. 

In the same vein, my community offers a wide variety of creative outlets. These allow people to express themselves in a safe and efficient way, promoting an environment of creative thinking. 

Dance studios, theaters, art rooms, musical instruments, and more will all be found in my community. Classes are held at specified hours, but community members are welcome, even encouraged, to use these facilities outside these class hours. The staff for these classes encourages students to engage in improvisation techniques to further foster creativity. 

Promoting and fostering creativity has been proven to result in health benefits, including mental health, which, in turn, promote values/standards such as teamship, self-actualization, and more. 

Career services

Yet another resource in my community that demonstrates how much community members are cared for is career services. The friendly and welcoming staff at career services also know students by their name and personal details, in addition to their individual career goals. 

Each career advisor is assigned a manageable number of students to make sure that they do not suffer from burnout and that they can help each student to the best of their ability. Each advisor will work through the career goals of each student and put together a five-year plan. 

Career advisors meet with each student in their group of students on a regular basis to ensure that the student is on the right track to meet their career goals after graduating. This may mean helping students build their resumes while still enrolled so that they can advance their careers. 

Students are to meet with career advisors as needed, promoting a sense of responsibility. 

Somewhat similar to career advisors, students are assigned a student success representative from the moment they are enrolled in the University. These representatives reach out to their assigned students on a bi-weekly basis to check in on how their classes are going. For example, they are charged with helping students to address any barriers to their education.

If a student’s e-book, for example, is not working, the student success representative would take steps to fix this problem. These representatives work in close collaboration with their assigned students, with the goal of establishing a relationship of trust, honesty, openness, and respect.

Legal aid

On a serious note, the community has legal aid. It provides legal aid for all its members, particularly students. The brokenness of the U.S. justice system is far from being a secret. 

Innocent people are arrested all the time, literally all the time. Even without a conviction or even a trial, an arrest alone could damage the image, reputation, and whole life of a person. It is therefore important for people to know and understand that they have a legal aid team who will provide them with top-notch legal counsel to the best of their ability, whatever the case may be.  

The community’s responsibility to ensure it is not contributing to wrongful convictions is a matter of the utmost seriousness. It is its job to protect the welfare of its members, and providing the best legal counsel available helps to achieve this goal. The legal team has a proven track record of representing numerous students and getting their charges dropped and off their records. This helps ensure that students are given a fair chance to succeed in whatever career they pursue. 

Alumni

Finally, the alumni community is very actively engaged in the overall community. They regularly visit classes to talk about their experiences, careers, and success stories. They provide advice to students about how they too can lead successful careers in their field of work. They are living proof that the community has worked and will continue to work toward achieving its mission. 

There is a page on the University website that is dedicated to helping current students connect with the alumni network. It provides the names, brief bios, and majors/degrees of the alumni, as well as their LinkedIn page so that students can reach out and form a connection with someone who can provide them with real-life guidance on what life after graduation looks like and how to take the steps necessary to climb up the professional ladder. By helping others overcome challenges post-graduation, alumni underscore the value of showing compassion for others. 

My community also has various unique resources. These include child daycare, daycare for pets, a secret garden, and a chapel for all religions. 

Child daycare

There are many students who are moms and want to further their education. The mere fact that they are moms should not preclude them from furthering their education. Thus, my community provides child daycare services. These offer a 24/7 live video forecasting of the children so that the mothers can focus more on their education, trusting that their children are in good hands.

The staff at the child daycare center underdog thorough background checks due to the nature of their jobs. The hiring process also ensures that the hires truly love and care about children. 

Pet daycare

The daycare center for pets serves a similar purpose. Ask any pet owner, and they will tell you that their pet is family. Some students may not have someone at home that can take care of their pets while they are away, and this is particularly concerning with full-time students. 

Whether it is a dog, cat, or bird, the daycare center for pets will ensure that your pet’s needs are being met while you are in class, studying, meeting with a professor, or engaging in any other school-related activities. There is also a licensed veterinarian on call in case of emergencies. 

Students can also attend class with their pets, as long as they do not interrupt others’ learning. 

Having your pet by your side promotes trust in the community. It also helps establish connections with others, further promoting a sense of community among its members. 

Secret garden

Yet another aspect of my community that promotes a sense of belonging and pride is the secret garden. This garden can only be located by members of the community, as it is hidden. There is a pathway that only the people who know about it can take. The pathway opens up into a beautiful, large garden. There are no restrictions in University policy to the use of the secret garden, not even hourly. This excludes, of course, any illegal actions. But the premises give people a safe place to meditate, do yoga, practice martial arts, take a break, create artwork, etc. 

The purpose of the secret garden is to show the community how to love and respect nature. 

Chapel 

Last, but certainly not least on the list in my community of character, is faith. My community has a chapel that has faith-specific and multi-faith rooms. This promotes inclusiveness and equity. 

Personally, I am a Baptist. But because my community is one that encourages a rich diversity of people with all types of cultures and backgrounds, it is accepting of all faiths. The chapel is set aside as a safe place for individuals to seek religious guidance, pray, or meditate. Nobody is persecuted for their religious beliefs. Interreligious dialogue among members is encouraged. 

Remaining a community of character

In terms of how the community will remain a community of character, leading by example is our motto. The community strongly believes to lead by example, not by force. Thus, all community leaders are trained in leading by example, promoting all the values/standards that I have mentioned. Leaders are held to a higher degree of responsibility to create a compassionate, empathetic, and understanding environment. This creates character and promotes excellence

Leadership also regularly (i.e., on a quarterly basis) rallies the community to hear from them, their issues, concerns, etc. They are giving a timeline to then come back with a report that outlines how this will be addressed. They are also clear about what their priorities are on a quarterly and annual basis. These reports also provide explanations for and details on these priorities, which are in line with what they have been hearing from the overall community.