Building Community with Pasta

Community comes from a Latin word (communis) meaning "common, public, general, shared by all or many."  It is a word that we hear a lot around here and one the drives much of what we are trying to do at a community college.  We would love to see students find a sense of belonging here, a sense of home.  Within this larger community of FLCC, I am forever trying to create a sense of community within Honors as well.  So many students who find their way to Honors are in need of a support network and a group of like-minded people that they can rely on to really reach their potential.  I say Honors students, but I think we all need that.

We all need to find our people.

It is an amazing thing when it happens, and it invigorates me mentally, emotionally, and (forgive me if this does not apply to you), even spiritually.  In short, it makes me remarkably happy and hopeful about the future - my own and that of the larger world around me.

But there is a problem.

It is a problem I have encountered in varying degrees for as long as I have been teaching, and it has only grown more pronounced since I took over Honors.  It's not always something I worry about and it isn't something that I always HAVE to think about, but it lurks.

Community cannot be forced.

One thing I have learned over the years is that a sense of community cannot be forced.  It also cannot be created by one person alone.  It must grow organically through shared experience, shared interests, and mutual respect.  So, as we embark on the settling in of this new semester, I want to invite you to help me grow this community of which you are now a part.  Become involved in what we are doing.

It is so easy to do so.

First, join our Discord.  I will create a special place for just your class so you can chat with your classmates specifically as well as with the Honors community as a whole.  I'll put a QR code you can scan at the bottom.

Second, go Like our Facebook page.  I don't post there as much as I should because I don't know as anyone reads it....but it's another place where we can have interactions.

Third, come to our events.  We will have talks this semester - I will post a schedule soon.  Topics range from cool things in the world of gaming, to cool things in history, to things we struggle with and need to overcome.  And there is one event that is already scheduled.  The Honors Dinner.

When:  10/25 at 4:00

Where:  Stage 14

What:  Conversation and shirts and giveaways and PASTA

Build community with us.  Be part of something that will last beyond this one semester and beyond these walls.  We cannot do it without you.