Welcome, belong, stay: Student employees reimagining campus life

Authors

  • Caroline E. Nilstad Norwegian University of Science and Technology image/svg+xml
  • Dr. Thomas V. Kalvik Norwegian University of Science and Technology image/svg+xml

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56433/dgnva053

Keywords:

student-staff collaboration, sense of belonging, student engagement, campus life, learning communities

Abstract

We have one big challenge: getting students back on campus and helping them feel that campus is more than just a classroom. After the pandemic, we noticed how many first-year students struggled to find their place—socially and academically. That inspired our project: Campus Hosts.

With this project we have established a team of student employees capable of developing and enriching campus life. They work both hands-on and behind the scenes when establishing spaces for informal networks and academic engagement, such as organizing festivals on campus and developing social student areas.

Author Biographies

  • Caroline E. Nilstad, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

    Advisor, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Humanities

  • Dr. Thomas V. Kalvik, Norwegian University of Science and Technology

    Senior adviser, Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Faculty of Social and Educational Sciences

References

Matthews, K. E., Andrews, V., & Adams, P. (2011). Social learning spaces and student engagement. Higher Education Research & Development, 30(2), 105–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/07294360.2010.512629

Small, M. L., Waterman, E., & Lender, T. (2017). Time Use During First Year of College Predicts Participation in High-Impact Activities During Later Years. Journal of College Student Development 58(6), 954-960. https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/csd.2017.0075.

Zwolak, J. P., Zwolak, M., & Brewe, E. (2018). Educational commitment and social networking: The power of informal networks. Physical Review of Physics Education Research 14 (1), 010131-12. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevPhysEducRes.14.010131

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Published

2026-06-09

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (part 1) (2026): EFYE Special Issue

Section

Vignette

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Caroline E. Nilstad, Dr. Thomas V. Kalvik

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.