HONORS ADVISOR SUPPORTING STUDENTS RIGHT WHERE THEY LIVE
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HEN MEG STOWE JOINED the Judy Genshaft Honors College as an advisor in February of 2020 and agreed to also oversee the Honors Living Learning Community (LLC) she had no way of knowing just how quickly the world, and her new role, would change. “I had not worked with housing before, and was eager to work closely with the students and address their programming needs,” says Stowe. “But two weeks after I took over, we were forced to close the campus due to COVID-19, and my plans for student engagement needed an overhaul.” The Spring LLC students were able to finish up their time in Juniper Hall on campus, and Stowe scheduled virtual programming for the residents to ensure that they still felt connected. She then spent much of the summer preparing for the Fall return, knowing that creativity was necessary to keep the sense of community while adhering to physical distancing policies.
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It was important to me, especially during the pandemic, that we allow the students to continue to form connections on campus, even if the method is virtual.” – Meg Stowe “I researched successful strategies from around the country, and implemented those that would most benefit our students,” says Stowe. “I also surveyed our LLC residents to see what types of activities they would most enjoy and what dates and times worked best for scheduling. It was important to me, especially during the pandemic, that we allow the students to continue to form connections on campus, even if the method is virtual.” Stowe was able to facilitate one in-person event for the fall semester. She and her graduate assistant,
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Towanda Beck, took LLC residents to the Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) for an outdoors physically-distanced stargazing event. “The students really enjoyed seeing Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn through the museum’s high-powered telescope,” says Stowe. “And we were able to comply with CDC guidelines to ensure everyone’s safety. It was a great event.” New state and local restrictions required that the remainder of the semester’s events be virtual, but that did not stop Stowe and Beck from planning an engaging, informative, and community-building schedule of opportunities for their students. “We worked with USF’s Career Services department to plan professional workshops, scheduled fun virtual trivia games and digital scavenger hunts, delivered fall candy bags to each resident as a reverse-Halloween event, provided craft supplies for art activities, and arranged for online tutoring four days a week,” says Stowe. “We also provided time management seminars and hosted a virtual experiential learning fair with representatives from Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Tampa Bay, and other local organizations to help connect students to safe virtual volunteer opportunities.” Stowe also worked with the USF Office of National Scholarships Director, Dr. Sayan Basu, and Honors Associate Dean, Dr. Benjamin Young, on a special
