Living Learning Communities Have a Busy Debut

Living Learning Communities (LLC) at UT Dallas are off to a busy start after their first semester in the University’s new residence hall.

Community members have attended seminars given by experts in their fields of interest and interacted closely with UT Dallas faculty and staff members. Members have also connected with the community through volunteer projects and honed leadership skills through team-building workshops.

LLCs are small groups of freshmen who have joined together to share common academic goals or interests. Members live in the residence hall, attend at least one class a semester together and participate in enrichment activities and service projects.

Highlights from the fall semester included the following:

• Art & Technology LLC  students met with industry experts, including a member of the Dreamworks studio, and key faculty members who discussed gaming, emerging media and 3D animation.  Students also toured the Janimation studio in Dallas.
  
  
• The Engineering and Computer Science LLC volunteered nearly 100 hours at the BEST Robotics competition – an annual event that allows middle school children to design, build and test their robotic creations.  They also assisted in two Habitat for Humanity projects in Plano.
• Music LLC members attended concerts by Gabriel Bianco and the Soli Chamber Ensemble. They also helped children create homemade musical instruments during the annual UT Dallas Family Day Carnival.
  
  
• The Multicultural & Social Justice LLC met privately with Christina Chavez, granddaughter of civil rights pioneer Cesar Chavez. They also researched nutrition problems and visited a southern Dallas community to learn what happens when a community does not have access to a grocery store that offers healthy food products.
  
  
• The Pre-Health Living Learning Community attended a UT Southwestern medical conference to learn more about medical school and the application process.  They participated in the Friday Night Friends program by caring for and engaging with special needs children so that their parents could have a night off to rejuvenate.  They also met with a panel of doctors and medical students in an event hosted by the Health Professions Advising Center. 
• School of Management Living Learning Community students began the year with a personal welcome from Dr. Hasan Pirkul, dean of the School of Management, and were also invited for an evening of dinner and conversation with SOM faculty. In preparation for the spring semester, the LLC organized a “scheduling party” and invited faculty to help them select courses for the new term.

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