By Rory Dulock | Staff Writer

While most Baylor students were still on summer break in early August, the Community Leaders were already preparing for the upcoming semester.

CL training started roughly around two weeks before school started, requiring them to come in early to prepare handling their residents.

Denton senior Chloe Brown is a CL for Heritage House and has been a CL since her second semester of freshman year. She said there is a training committee made up of multiple residence hall directors that switch year-to-year, as well as some professional staff who work in the central office for Campus Living and Learning who planned the training for about six months.

According to Brown, even though the training is two weeks long, every day has a busy agenda to follow.

“We’ll typically start in the morning anywhere between 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. and then a lecture probably will end a little bit after lunch,” Brown said. “Then after that, you have in-hall time, which is when you work with your staff and talk about expectations specifically for your building. So it’s a jam-packed, full couple of days, but it’s really fun.”

Brown said they have a wide variety of trainings that happen throughout the two weeks; some are specifically geared towards returning CLs, and some are targeted at those new to the role.

“We have a wide variety of trainings to prepare us for both day-to-day aspects of the job as well as having different ways to think creatively,” Brown said. “We really try to hit a bunch of different topics, talking about mental health and talking about safety and having different guests speak to us about different policy updates.”

Kapolei, Hawaii, senior Joseph Abendanio is a CL for Brooks Residential College and starting his sixth semester as a CL. He said there are many different sessions and lectures to attend, and each one is a necessary part of training to make sure they are ready for the upcoming semester.

“Between online, in-person and large group settings, CL training usually is very eclectic in the fall, so it necessitates it being two weeks long,” Abendanio said. “A lot of that is also spent in-hall, decorating before everyone gets in… so a lot of things have to be done during fall training, and so that’s why it’s so much longer than it is in the spring.”

However, it is not all just lectures and meetings — there are fun activities throughout as well that help with bonding, Brown said.

“These trainings help prepare CLs for what to expect on a more informational policy front as well as really help with team bonding and staff bonding,” Brown said. “It’s just a really fun time where we get to learn what it means to, day in and day out, take care of our residents and be there for them.”

Abendanio said one of his favorite things about being a CL is seeing a community form over time and watching those relationships become established and grow into something that withstands graduation and moves across the nation or internationally. That is one of his “bigger highlights” during his career as a CL.

“One of the most important things for people outside of the CL role to know is … a lot of time is spent intentionally making sure that residents are connected to other resources,” Abendanio said. “As long as they are getting plugged into something that they are passionate about, they love and where they know that they are welcome and they belong, my job has been successfully accomplished.”

Brown said she loves getting to prepare for her residents and wants them to “feel really special and feel really known” because her favorite part about being a CL is getting to build community.

“I just want [students] to know that we just love and care for the people of Baylor and the residents who live in our halls and who live off of our halls,” Brown said. “The work is hard, but it’s also just amazing to be able to work with so many wonderful people and to be filled by so many wonderful people in different ways.”