Kaleigh Zierk | Echo
The aroma of fresh paint lingers as students fill the rooms for the first time. Decorations are added to the plain walls inside, while outdoor landscaping continues. As the 2013 academic year begins, so does a new era.
Breuninger Hall is the newest addition to Taylor's campus, but moving into the newly constructed dorm isn't the only challenge posed to residents of Breuninger.
Every Taylor residence hall has a history and identity that has been solidified for years. Hall directors, personnel assistants, discipleship coordinators and discipleship assistants create and maintain a specific culture based on the established personality of their dorm. Such is not the case for Breuninger Hall.
Student leaders and upperclassmen have been carefully selected to live in Breuninger to develop unique traditions, identity and culture. But where do they start? A good source of inspiration might be Breuninger herself.
From 1964 to 1975, Ruth Ann Breuninger was an associate professor of religion and physical education at Taylor. She exhibited passion for the Lord through her support for ministry and is remembered as a founder of Lighthouse, according to Taylor's website.
Known as the quirky "Dr. B," Breuninger was dearly loved by her students and colleagues. She placed much importance on servant leadership and expressed her desire to serve the Lord by ministering to her pupils and being engaged outside the walls of Taylor. Until her passing, she mentored hundreds of students and encouraged them to love and minister to others within and outside of the Taylor community.
The hall was named after Breuninger to honor the impact she had on Taylor, according to Steve Morley, dean of residence life and discipleship.
"In the case of all the residence halls and other buildings on campus, they are not named after the largest benefactor. It's really to honor someone's life," said Morley. "Dr. Ruth Ann Breuninger was one of those people who was really well known, well loved, had a high level of student engagement and founded the Lighthouse program."
Lighthouse is a unique program to Taylor and has provided numerous ministry opportunities to students for over 40 years. "The program emphasizes a core value of Taylor, that is being engaged beyond this one-mile loop," said Morley.Just as Breuninger desired to be engaged beyond Taylor, student leaders in Breuninger Hall desire a diverse and loving culture that stretches beyond the dorm walls.
"Our theme is to love God and love your sister," said junior Amanda Razzi, PA on the second floor in Breuninger. Razzi explains that her floor theme is derived from the greatest commandment stated in Mark 12.
"We really want our floor to be a sisterhood and authentic place. We focus on who we are as daughter's of the most high God," Razzi said.
Razzi and other Breuninger PAs are determined to reflect Breuninger's passion by encouraging the residents to truly love God and each other and engage the Taylor community as a whole, not just within their own dorm. As far as reflecting Breuninger's quirky and fun-loving personality, the dorm is inherently just that.
"We're all quirky. This whole building is quirky. We all come from different dorms and different places in the country. This whole idea of attaching a new dorm is cool and quirky in its own way," Razzi said. "We are all meshed together."
An interesting but important goal for Breuninger residents is to stay away from stereotypes.
"I personally think if you want stereotypes to stop, then you need to stop talking about it. If everyone stopped and talked to each other, rather than about each other, there wouldn't be any stereotypes," Razzi said.
As the academic year continues, Breuninger Hall will develop a reputation. The hope is that the dorms reputation mirrors that of Breuninger and Taylor's core values - "a focus that's not on yourself, but what happens outside of those walls," Morley said.
Razzi concluded: "We're just trying to love each other and love the Lord"
