What Honors Learning Community Residents Say:

During my first semester, I went through the same orientation, took the same core courses, and traversed the same campus as every other freshman; however, I was one of only a handful with a family waiting at home each night I understand that the term ‘family’ is about as cliché as it gets, yet I believe that it is the single most appropriate word to describe the community within the honors pavilion. Members of the pavilion know each other inside out (for better or for worse); we get in fights, make up, laugh at each other’s idiosyncrasies. 
~ Jon Mahlandt

Having common interests, values, and responsibilities with the people I live with is invaluable. I share at least one class per semester with about half of my hall right now. Having my classmates as hall mates allows for fun study sessions and intriguing discussions. Often, class discussions will continue after class on the hall. When one of the honors classes has a project or a test coming up, a group of students will congregate in the hall to study and work together.
~ Lisa Bodine

The family dynamic of Billy House is amazing.  Every person in the community is a unique individual, and these personal differences are recognized.  We each have our own lives…but at the end of the day we are a family.  These are the people I share my meals with; the ones who take care of me when I am sick; the ones with whom I can go to Cook-Out at 3 a.m. and end up in a deep philosophical conversation about morality.  I look to the people in Billy House for guidance when deciding where to eat, registering for classes, making plans for the weekend and exploring my study abroad options.  The older students went above and beyond to include us, as freshmen, in the community.  They basically adopted us and took us under their nurturing wing.  While not everyone in the house gets along swimmingly 100 percent of the time, we make things work.
~ Hannah Williams

I want to continue living in an environment where I am surrounded by motivated students who have similar social and academic goals.  By living next to peers that are also striving to perform well in their classes I am not only able to help and receive help from my hall mates, but also engage in other meaningful conversations.  ….I was able to grow so close to my peers....
~ Kirby Sypek

The traditions that we’ve created as a dorm are important to us.  ….To us, the William R. Kenan Jr. Honors Pavilion isn’t just a house.  It isn’t just a kitchen, or a nice place to live with your own bathroom and big windows.  It’s the Billy House, and it is our home.
~ Caroline Fox

Living in the Honors Pavilion has allowed me to enjoy benefits that few students experience in college. The small number of residents provides for the opportunity to create meaningful relationships with others in the Honors Program.  The building itself is, of course, very nice, offering the residents places to relax and socialize as well as study. The classrooms are an added bonus, allowing for group meetings and offering useful technology not found in other residence areas.  I have found that living in a place that permits me to concentrate on my studies has been an invaluable asset. Even though all of the things the building itself has to offer is worth returning to, the most enjoyable aspect of living in the Honors Pavilion is the other residents. The students, along with the residing faculty member, are the ones that make living in the pavilion enjoyable. We as residents control how beneficial our experience is while we live together, which is both a privilege and a responsibility.
~ Will Allen