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Community Development

Building Connections Year-Round

Regardless of a student's class year or experience, STEP supports the development of community relationships, the enhancement of personal well-being, and the exploration of academic and co-curricular interests.

Center for Community Development

The Center for Community Development (CCD) is a resource center and creative planning space located in the Campus Living Center for student leaders engaged in peer support.

Connection Initiatives

Designed to supplement New Student Orientation and the Find, Form & Focus Your Experience series, two types of connection initiatives are offered.

Community Connections

Inspiration for Community Connections come from multiple sources. Events, like "Positivity Rocks" and "Romaine Calm: A Veggie Study Break in Swem Library" during final exams were inspired by the creativity from the Directorate team. While our "Faculty Favorite Forever" initiative, where students recognize faculty members who have made an impact on them during their first year, was inspired from student feedback and data asking for more opportunities to connect with faculty inside and outside the classroom.

Distinctive Connections

Distinctive Connections are created to support the orientation, transition, and/or persistence of a distinct (or unique) student population, such as military/veterans, first-generation, low-income, gap-year, transfer students, military kids, etc. Striving to promote student belonging and individual flourishing, our Initiative Directors collaborate with university partners to celebrate "National Transfer Week", "National First-Generation College Student Day", "Month of the Military Child", and other such events.

Initiative Directors

The Initiative Directors form a student board focused on planning, designing, and facilitating year-round community-based initiatives for undergraduate students as they move in, through, and out of their unique W&M experience. Members of the collaborate with each other and campus partners to promote large and small-scaled programs.