Student Success Connections Initiative Helps Students Find Community

At NC State, the Division of Academic and Student Affairs is dedicated to supporting the whole student, and guiding their college journey both in and outside of the classroom. 

One of the most important elements of a student’s college journey is finding their community and a sense of belonging, and, at a big school with as many offerings as NC State, that can sometimes be a daunting process in terms of figuring out where to go. 

Over the past year, Dave Johnson, associate director for student success initiatives, has set out to help guide students in that endeavor through the Student Success Connections initiative, a means of assisting students in finding resources and opportunities to build their community. 

“This stemmed out of the new student survey, where some students requested to have a conversation with someone about making friends and finding community,” Johnson said. “We realized there was no dedicated person or unit to send those students to, so we started to develop the Student Success Connections initiative.” 

Research from the Education Advisory Board (EAB), a national organization dedicated to supporting education technology, services and research, indicates that a student’s sense of belonging on campus is one of the most important factors in their academic success, retention,  overall engagement and graduation. 

“I think it’s important for a student to find their people,” Johnson said. “Finding your people can help you have someone to talk to about class, have someone to talk to about your life. That feeling of belonging is so important, and finding that connection on campus can help improve a student’s sense of belonging.” 

Johnson is acting as the engagement navigator for the program. In this role, he provides direct, one-to-one outreach to students, meeting with them to understand their interests and needs, and providing them with connections to help them find community. 

Students can self refer themselves to the program, or be referred by a faculty or staff member. 

“If staff or faculty are meeting with students, and in their conversation, the student is talking about how they’re having trouble finding a community, making friends or finding their place, I’m a resource for the student to come have a conversation with and help point them in the right direction,” Johnson said. 

Faculty and staff who wish to refer a student to Student Success Connections or have questions about the process should email Johnson. The staff member can then connect the student with the initiative by emailing both the student and Johnson to set up a meeting. 

After meeting with the student and figuring out which campus connections, student organizations, clubs or other resources might be best suited to that student, Johnson can then directly connect them to staff members from those organizations. 

“I want to be a resource to staff, to faculty, to whoever, so that if their student is struggling with finding a community, I can be a resource for that student,” Johnson said. 

During the soft roll out of the initiative last academic year, Johnson worked with 12 students through Student Success Connections to help them find a community on campus. 

He hopes to continue to grow that number moving forward, but the most important goal is to help any student in need find the sense of belonging they’re seeking. 

“If I’m helping one student find their place at NC State, that’s worth it for me,” Johnson said. 

This post was originally published in DASA.