Living-Learning Communities

Trinity’s take on student housing doesn’t fit into the traditional notion of “dorm life.” Here, students have the option to house in living-learning communities, where diverse groups of Tigers—united by a unique theme—can collaborate outside the classroom.

E-Hall

Trinity’s version of Silicon Valley, E-Hall is a collaborative living space for future entrepreneurs.

Founded in 2007, the space originally admitted 16 first-year Tigers and was tied to a first-year seminar course on entrepreneurship. In 2013, the program expanded to include any Trinity first year, regardless of major. Students can kick back and unleash their creativity, collaboration, and enterprising energy. Here, future business partners have met while cooking, doing laundry, or even brushing their teeth.

Swashbucklers

Jeno “Kicker” Kalozdi ’08 still remembers the day he and three friends pitched the idea of the Swashbucklers to Trinity administrators. It was fall 2005, and Kalozdi, Jason Ballengee ’08, Philip Gates ’08, and Patrick Smith ’08 waited patiently for their turn among other groups pursuing an on-campus residential community. Yet something was off about the group. They wore no blazers. No ties. Not a single button-up shirt could be found among the four of them.

Instead, the group entered their presentation dressed head-to-toe in pirate regalia. Pirate hats fell jauntily over their foreheads and fake swords dangled from their hips. Then, the group pitched the idea of a substance-free dorm, where students who didn’t want to consume alcohol could pursue other ways of having fun.

“We had this meeting with some of the heads of Trinity, and I guess they were a little surprised to see us not in business attire, but in elaborate pirate costumes,” recalls Kalozdi. “Even though we were dressed like buffoons, we gave the pitch completely serious and they loved our style, our concept, and we gained approval.”

HOPE HALL

HOPE Hall, or Homelessness Outreach Pursuing Education, serves beyond the borders of campus in order to discover how to best impact a lifestyle different than their own. HOPE Hall members commit to serving people experiencing homelessness by weekly volunteering with a community partner each semester. A student-created mixed upper-class and first-year student living learning community, the hall allows members to build relationships with each other through shared service experience and reflection. Academically, service experiences within the community provide new insights and perspectives to be explored in a classroom setting.