The Office of Student Engagement has a new home in the Brown-Lupton North Wing, and the plans for the new location go far beyond work stations for the staff members.

With roughly four times the square footage, the new office is on its way to becoming a "living room" for students, complete with a big-screen TV, and even more amenities on the way.

Eugene Frier, assistant dean of students for student engagement, has plans to add tables for studying and games, couches, computer stations and bookshelves stocked with a collection of board games.

"We're serving as a mini union," said Frier. "The move gave us the space to do that, and that increase in space is going to benefit our students in huge ways."

Room to fit a growing staff

The office, formerly occupied by Career Services and International Programs, is quite the upgrade in square footage for the Student Engagement team, which had outgrown its longtime home in the space above the Grille Works.

In the span of roughly a year and a half, the staff size expanded from one full-time employee and one student worker to five full-time employees and eight student workers, who serve as Student Life Ambassadors (SLA).

The team started the move on Oct. 2, and Frier couldn't be happier with how things are coming together.

"This is great for us, but more importantly, it's great for the students. We've got great things ahead for them."

More than just a name

"Student Engagement" isn't just a catchy office title for Frier's team, and their new space offers them the real estate they need to complement the "Smaller. Smarter." experience students get in the classroom.

"We take our office name quite literally," said Frier. "We want to offer a variety of avenues for students to get engaged."

Having the SLA staff on hand to interact with students is a key component to making that happen. With more space available, Frier can position more SLAs in the office to interact with students and ask intentional questions about how they want to be involved at Texas Wesleyan.

"A big part of everything that happens on a college campus starts with a connection piece, it starts with a relationship," said Frier. "We want to positively role model that for students and give them avenues to create those relationships."