Commons seeks to bring students together

Starting this fall, students going into business and entrepreneurship will be able to live together in the Business Connection Commons, housed in Prentice Hall.

The College of Business and Residence Services will provide advising services, classrooms, guest speakers and tutoring opportunities for all business and entrepreneurship majors in Prentice Hall, formerly a regular co-ed residence hall.

“It’s a nice opportunity for students to live together who are in the same majors,” said Jennifer Noble, learning community and freshmen interest group coordinator.

Residential learning communities are designed to help students meet others who share the same academic interests. The Honors College and the College of Communication and Information are the two other living communities provided on campus, in Johnson Hall and Olson Hall, respectively.

Noble said she hopes older and more experienced students will mentor incoming freshmen in the living communities.

Incoming freshmen can also find guidance through four programs provided by the business living community – A Community of Entrepreneurs, Accelerated Bachelor of Business Administration, Accounting Freshmen Interest Group and College of Business Colleagues, Noble said

She said eventually they want to build “incubator space” for students to create and run their own businesses. There are already four student-run businesses on campus.

Flash Flix, the new movie rental store in the Student Center, is one student-run business facilitated by the Entrepreneurship Center. Laundry in a Flash, launched at the beginning of this semester, is another.

Ashley Fannin, vice president of operations of American Marketing Association and senior managerial marketing major, said her business partner Steve Davis came up with the idea of Laundry in a Flash.

“Steve is a pitcher on the baseball team and has a limited amount of time to do laundry,” Fannin said.

The Business Community Commons will allow all business and entrepreneurship majors the chance to connect with other students, network with advisors and professors, explore options for involvement and create opportunities to develop entrepreneurial business.

Students interested in living in the BCC need to select Business Connection Commons or Prentice Hall as their number-one choice on the residence hall application and fill out the community specific application in the learning community or on the freshmen interest group Web site.

Students currently living in Prentice Hall will be displaced but will have the first opportunity to choose their rooms for next fall.

Along with making Prentice Hall the new BCC, other projects include an Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant room and an elevator.

Contact room and board reporter Kristyn Lebovitz at [email protected].