Augustana College prides itself on its small size and focus on student needs; on their website, “advising and attention” are lauded as benefits of attendance. Despite the relatively small size of campus, it can be difficult to keep up with the availability and location of Augie’s various events and resources, especially as a first-year student.
As the school year begins, campus groups and offices resume their work. Throughout the fall semester, the services available to students will continue to grow in scope and number, and knowing exactly where and when to turn for support is critical. Among Augie’s network of student support services are those run by and through Campus Ministries.
Although rooted in Augustana’s Evangelical traditions, Campus Ministries provides religious services as well as outings and resources unrelated to faith. Senior Ian Bischoff, who is a member of the leadership team supervised by Rev. Melinda Pupillo, said that events are varied and open to the entire student body.
“We put on a lot of events; we do apple picking, a Bible study, cave explorations and we’re doing a mocktail event this semester,” Bischoff said. “It’s really open to all religions.”
Campus Ministries’ involvement in the Augustana community extends beyond worship and socialization. Nestled in the basement of the Bahls Leadership Center is Augie’s on-campus food bank, Campus Cupboard.
Campus Cupboard, which is open Monday through Friday from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., offers food and other necessary goods for students and restocks monthly. Senior Cord Lawrence, who helps run and restock the pantry, said that the checkout process is simple. Step one? Walk in.
“Students can just come in and grab a plastic bag; there should be somebody working there to help out with any questions,” Lawrence said.
Next, they can browse for whatever food or items they may need. Dry goods, canned vegetables, packaged drinks and even snacks are freely available. Hygiene and personal care essentials are stocked on their own cart.
“We have a cart with deodorant, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste, pads, tampons and shaving supplies,” Lawrence said. “That’s something that we really amped up last year.”
Finally, students record the date, their ID number and the weight of their items using a provided scale. This information, Lawrence said, provides updates on levels of student need and interest.
“It tells us how much use we’re seeing, and if we need to restock more often or less often,” Lawrence said.
Financial insecurity, car trouble, lack of transportation and so many other factors might make getting enough food a concern for students, whether for a day or the entire year. In this sense, it may be obvious just how free food can be helpful, but there are countless opportunities at Augustana which are hidden either in their value or their existence.
One of Augustana’s most precious and least-utilized academic resources is the knowledge and guidance of Augustana’s three professional research librarians, Garrett Traylor, Anne Earle and Kaitlyn Goss-Peirce.
Each librarian specializes in STEM, arts and communication and humanities research respectively and share the responsibility of social science research assistance. Goss-Peirce said that the type and level of assistance is completely up to those requesting it.
“We are happy to help at any part of the research process,” Goss-Peirce said. “Maybe you’re reading a prompt and coming up with ideas, or you’ve done a draft and you’ve realized you need to find more materials.”
As a first step, students might consider stopping by the circulation desk on the second floor of Thomas Tredway Library to speak with a student research assistant, available from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. every Monday through Thursday, and from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Fridays. For less technical needs like finding sources or navigating a database, this resource can be invaluable.
“All of our students are trained to be able to help with any sort of entry level to moderate level research question,” Goss-Peirce said.
What if a research question doesn’t require a full appointment, but might take longer than a typical walk-in? What if it isn’t clear how much attention a research assignment or question requires? For students who find themselves stuck or unsure about these two options, a third is available through “ReSearch/ReWrite”.
Born as a collaboration between the Reading and Writing Center and Tredway Library, ReSearch/ReWrite offers walk-in sessions, hosted weekly, in which students can have their research and writing questions answered. Though a schedule is yet to be announced for this semester’s sessions, Goss-Peirce said that those affiliated hope to build interest and expand the program moving forward.
“We’re hoping that if we get enough interest this fall, we can open up additional times and expand to multiple [days] of the week,” Goss-Peirce said.
In addition to supporting academic needs, Tredway’s research librarians have been hard at work building up mental and emotional health support resources through wellness kits. Through an initiative in the spring of 2023, they began assembling kits filled with items and tools to support different themes of wellbeing. Kits for winter wellness, creativity and mindfulness have included items like hand warmers and LEGO sets, and Goss-Peirce said that future kits will focus on different needs on campus.
“We’ve been focusing on accessibility tools and fidgets to make studying and self-care easier for students,” Goss-Peirce said. “We’ve had an increase in the number of students and faculty with young children, so we’re creating a couple kits that you can check out to entertain your child while you are studying.”
Tredway Library holds a wealth of information within its physical collections and online databases, and is made more vibrant and accessible through the work of student employees, research librarians and others. Whether students have just joined the Augustana community or have their sights set on graduation, those who learn how to navigate library resources empower themselves as learners and researchers. Though being an academic weapon warrants celebration, so does reaching out whenever in need, whether that need is for information, food, personal care or anything else.
“There are resources available on campus if you’re really in need of something,” Lawrence said. “You just need to get in touch with somebody – faculty just want to see us succeed, and asking for help is great.”
