On Nov. 25 and 26, students participated in “Coffee with Colleagues,” an event in which students could meet with faculty and staff from their department and talk about their futures, their families and life in general.
The event took place in the Regions Room and in Cone Chapel on Monday and Tuesday from 4:30-7:45 p.m.
Coffee with Colleagues started with an idea Student Association president junior Will Waldron had at the beginning of the semester coinciding with the SA theme, “Connections.”
“The reason this came up is because I realized I have a lot of mentors who are professors and even some professors who I don’t consider mentors but I don’t mind going to ask them a question that isn’t pertinent to the class,” Waldron said. “So, I had all of these great mentors and I feel like a good portion of the students want to have that kind of relationship with someone older than them.”
SA sponsor Todd Patten said he thinks it is a good thing to be outside of the classroom and interacting with the student body and to have students interacting with faculty.
“Personally, I’m looking forward to getting to be around a variety of students,” Patten said. “It’s difficult at times to find opportunites to be with students outside of our academic departments. At these types of events faculty actually get to know who the students are. Outside of the classroom we get a different view of the students and the students get a different view of us. I’m also excited about being with other faculty members that are not necessarily in my area.”
Waldron, who participated in Coffee with Colleagues himself, said he really enjoyed the event and talking to his professors.
“Personally, I love Dr. James Mackey,” Waldron said. “I don’t have a lot of access to him outside of the classroom and this is a way we can just talk about what is going on.”
Assistant to the President Nate Copeland said he thinks the event was a good opportunity for students because the only chance students have to talk to professors is after class and it is usually not to ask them about their families, kids or hobbies.
“I think this could be another way that the professors at Harding can get to know their students even better,” Copeland said. “I think we have some, if not the best, faculty in the nation. Part of that is because they genuinely care about their students.”
Waldron said he believes there is a lot more to education than the industrial classroom setting.
“I think because I’ve been involved in a lot, I’ve had my eyes opened to the experiential type of learning, which I think comes from the relationships you get outside of being force-fed information,” Waldron said. “That is a great thing, I feel like I’ve gotten a great education at Harding, but I feel like there is so much more to the classroom. So, that’s why I feel like students should be involved and that’s why I feel like faculty should be involved. We could just create this atmosphere of experiential learning outside the classroom, a mentor aspect.”
