As a returning Rose Scholar this year, I have enjoyed the program very much. I sincerely appreciate the opportunity being a Rose Scholar has given me to expand my intellectual horizons and get to know guests/students in smaller, discussion-promoting settings who I otherwise would never have known. I also admire the great diversity of visitors we have hosted at our Rose Cafes, many being professors/scholars hailing from universities of different countries with educational/cultural systems quite different from our own, and it is very eye-opening to learn about their unique journey in academia. Moreover, blogging about the events has helped me better reflect on my experience and consolidate my questions/reaction that I did not have the adequate time to do so during the event. I think the Rose Scholars program has taken a considerable step towards creating a sense of membership within the Rose House, one of the primary goals of the program, but more importantly, cultivated a sense of community and engagement within the residential system.

My biggest suggestion for improvement, especially pertaining to the goal of creating a sense of house membership, is to incorporate social opportunities with the primary goal of encouraging Rose residents to get to know each other better in informal settings. Although I agree that the Rose Cafes and Table Talks/discussions have been very beneficial intellectually, I find that students are not able to connect with each other very much during these events. Becoming familiar with each other/recognizing friendly faces as a member of Rose House is a precondition to creating a sense of belonging within a house. Another suggestion relating to events would be to conduct a pre-semester survey of Rose residents on their interests and what they seek to get out of the program. This feedback could be incorporated when organizing events, for example, when choosing discussion topics for Monday’s dinners or Friday’s films. This would be a relatively easy way to both bolster event attendance and give residents a larger voice in the creation of their own academic/social environment.