By Jenn Grimm & LaShay McQueen

For more than 25 years, learning communities (LCs) have been a core high impact practice offered to ODU students, and we have some exciting new faces who have recently stepped into ODU’s LC leadership roles. ODU offers two types of learning communities:  Impact Learning Communities (ILCs), coordinated by the Academic Success Center, and Living-Learning Communities (LLCs), coordinated by the Office of Leadership & Learning with support from Housing & Residence Life. While Director of Academic Initiatives in the Academic Success Center, LaShay McQueen, and Director for Leadership & Learning, Dr. Jenn Grimm, are still involved in supporting learning communities, over the past several months the reins have been passed to learning communities’ newest leaders, Tara Hillman and Kayla Brown.

Tara Hillman serves as the Coordinator of Academic Enrichment Programs for the Academic Success Center. Tara has been in her role since January 2023. She received a B.S. in Professional Communication from ODU and an M.S. in Management with an emphasis in Leadership from Strayer University. Tara has worked in various roles at ODU over the last 10 years.  Most recently, she served as the Testing Center Coordinator for the Credentialing Center where she managed day-to-day operations. Previously, she was a Program Support Manager for the Career Switcher Program. She has a passion for education with background experience in test administration, program development, and mentoring. In her current role as Coordinator for Academic Enrichment Programs, Tara facilitates the planning and implementation of Impact Learning Communities.  She communicates with various academic departments and campus partners to assist with scheduling, registration, and promotion for ILCs.  In addition, she works with peer mentors to provide guidance in their roles with ILC students.  Tara enjoys reading, DIY decorating projects, and spending time with her family.

Kayla Brown joined the Monarch community in November 2022 as the Assistant Director for Living-Learning Communities within the Office of Leadership & Learning. Ms. Brown received a B.S. in Liberal Studies from Longwood University in Farmville, VA and an M.S. in Higher Education Administration from Florida International University in Miami, FL. Kayla has served as a Residence Life Coordinator at the University of Houston (UH) for two years. As part of her role at UH, she managed a Learning Community program for seven townhouses serving 120 residents, collaborated with a Faculty-in-Residence to provide educational programming and build campus partnerships, and managed the administrative processes for a 1,096 bed residence hall. Kayla is originally from Hampton Roads and was excited to return to the area while pursuing her passion for building authentic living-learning environments for ODU’s diverse student population. Within her role as the Assistant Director for LLCs, Kayla supervises a graduate assistant and 12 undergraduate student peer mentors, works collaboratively with LLC campus partners to facilitate programs and communications for the 400+ LLC student residents, coordinates the recruitment and application process for admitting students into LLCs, and plans and facilitates large-scale events offered to all LLC students. In her spare time, Kayla enjoys reading, crafting, and exploring the outdoors through “glamping.” Be sure to say hello to Kayla in her office the next time you visit Owens House on the Quad!

Want to learn more about learning communities? The Learning Communities team is open to working with faculty to develop ideas for future communities. Contact Tara Hillman at TNHillma@odu.edu or Kayla Brown at k15brown@odu.edu.