Faithful to our PEOPLE and PLACE

Residential life has been an integral part of the student experience at Bethel University since its founding. Some of the first buildings constructed on campus were the women’s and men’s residence halls – Shupe and Oakwood – in 1958 and 1965, respectively. Today, these spaces serve as the first home away from
home for residential freshmen, with a focus on community and a commitment to helping students engage in college life while growing deeper in relationship with Jesus. While they’ve served generations of students well over the years, they have needed upgrades and renovations for some time.

As part of the Faithful Campaign’s “place” initiative – focused on stewarding the spaces we already have and attending to deferred maintenance — the bathrooms in Oakwood and Shupe were completely renovated over the summer for new students to enjoy for fall 2023. Additionally, new flooring was installed throughout Shupe, and the walls received a fresh coat of paint. Plans are underway to do the same for Oakwood.

For Audrey Babler, a junior elementary education major who has lived in Shupe for three years — two as a resident assistant or RA — she immediately noticed the difference the renovations provided.

“I’ve loved the improvements,” she says. “I remember my freshman year. I mean, this dorm is really great, but I felt like the improvements made it more of a homey feel in here. And it was just very clean and nice, so I appreciated that a lot.”

Junior Olivia Bley, a youth ministry major who has also lived in Shupe for three years (two as an RA), says the renovations sent a clear message to students that Bethel cares about them.

“Incoming freshmen are coming in and experiencing college for their first time, so [the renovations] definitely show that Bethel cares enough to make sure the spaces are nice for [them].”

RA Tim Miller, a junior English education major, got to see the Oakwood renovations before students moved in.

“It’s a night and day difference getting to walk in there,” he observes. “All the showers are nice now … before, they were all different … so you picked which shower you wanted to go to. Now they’re all the same. I’m glad that Bethel is giving special attention to things that need to be redone, especially in Oakwood
and Shupe.”

But the transformations haven’t just been seen in the physical spaces. According to these RAs, freshmen residence halls are the place for life transformation.

“There’s so much faith building here that [happens] on each floor [of Oakwood],” Miller says. “Every day someone comes up and they’re like, ‘I didn’t know that about the Bible or this character in the Bible, and I want to know more.’ Multiple instances have happened on my floor this year citing that multiple people just want to be more involved.”

Bley says that in Shupe, dorm Bible studies have been particularly impactful.

“I love the idea of the life-on-life relationships where you get to invest and pour into the people here, but then they also do the same thing back for you, which is just the coolest thing for me,” she states.

While many students choose to continue on to Bethel’s upperclassmen residence halls or apartment-style housing beyond their freshman year, Miller, Bley and Babler have all chosen to stay in the freshmen dorms for three years, agreeing collectively that there’s “something special” about these spaces.

“I think Oakwood has one of the best communities on campus,” Miller explains. “Everybody here is new. They’re trying things out. So they’re willing to participate … Everybody here wants to be involved, and I want to keep being a part of that.”