Building Community, One Quesadilla at a Time

Every freshman comes to college scared of being alone. For many freshmen, the idea of sitting by him or herself at Leo’s or staying in by his or herself on a Friday night is just as frightening as failing the first midterm. As a Georgetown community, it’s important for us to think about how we can make incoming freshmen feel comfortable enough to forge connections with the community so they can become familiar with the idea of calling the Hilltop home.

My freshman Chaplain-in-Residence was Father Steck on New South 4. As someone who isn’t religious, I was wary of the idea of having a chaplain on my floor in New South. Yet, I soon came to be so happy to have a chaplain on my floor. I think as a freshman on New South 4, I missed Father Steck’s Quesadilla and Brownie Night only two times out of the entire year. Every Thursday night, I was so eager to go to Quesadilla and Brownie Night because it was the only event that brought my entire floor together on a regular basis. Regardless of how much work I might have had on those nights, for 30 minutes every Thursday night, I focused only on building relationships with my floor. Through hosting these events, Father Steck was able to forge connections between students. Father Steck himself also always remained a friendly figure on our floor, eager to hear about our days, our classes, and our lives. It was comforting to know that if I ever felt like I needed help with a certain issue or situation, I could seek advice from Father Steck.

Chaplains-in-Residence at Georgetown provide a unique and much needed avenue of support for students, and their programming bring a necessary platform for building community in residential life.

Patrick Drown, SFS ’17