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<< Back to Which Learning Community is For Me?The Huber Residential Learning Community
...for pre-professional health students
The Huber Residential Learning Community (HRLC) is a year-long opportunity for 20 first year, pre-professional health students. Incoming students from diverse majors (including undeclared) with interests in any of the pre-professional health programs [pre-audiology, -dentistry, -forensics, -medicine, -occupational therapy, -optometry, -pharmacy, -physical therapy, -physician assistant, -speech language pathology, and -veterinary medicine] are encouraged to apply. Successful applicants will reside in or near Chesapeake Hall. (http://www.jmu.edu/orl/halls/chesapeake.html)
The goal of the HRLC is to create a living-learning environment in which students learn to integrate their undergraduate coursework with preparation for a professional health career while gaining early experience interacting with a variety of faculty, health professionals, and agencies in the local community. We believe that pre-professional students who become adept at skills in reflection, professionalism, multiculturalism, teamwork, and community awareness will be those who effect change in their communities and provide leadership in the rapidly evolving and expanding fields of health and human services.
Coursework is designed exclusively for HRLC members. Members enroll in HHS 201 (1 credit, fall semester) and HHS 202 (2 credits, spring semester). Both courses promote a strong sense of community and responsibility that can transform individuals, local and global communities, as well as undergraduate pre-professional health education. Activities require members to interact successfully in diverse learning settings, participate in a poverty simulation and immigrant learning tour, and complete a 20-hour service learning experience. It is our hope that Huber RLC members experience the power of personal and professional relationships in shaping innovation and leading community awareness and change.
The Huber RLC honors the late Dr. Vida Huber who established JMU’s Institute for Innovation in Health and Human Services (IIHHS). IIHHS facilitates campus-community connections that allow us to translate urgent needs and compelling ideas into practice. In a typical year, IIHHS involves over 3000 students in clinical and community programs (exceeding 15,000 hours of service) and provides over $4 million in grant-funded services to the citizens of Virginia. Ongoing services to children, families, older adults, migrant populations, and those vulnerable to critical gaps in health care and community support reach hundreds of families and thousands of individuals in the city of Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, and across the Commonwealth.
HRLC alumni have completed more than 1650 hours of “learning while serving” at local health and human service agencies including: Harrisonburg Community Health Center, Gus Bus: Reading Road Show, Crossroads to Brain Injury Recovery, Counseling and Psychological Services, Youth Suicide Prevention, Child Development Clinic, Valley AIDS Network, Rockingham Memorial Hospital, Harrisonburg Rescue Squad, and the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County Free Clinic. Huber RLC members have a direct and positive impact on people’s lives!
Questions about the Huber Residential Learning Community? Please contact Dr. Sharon Babcock at pph@jmu.edu or (540)568-6652. You may also contact The Office of Residence Life at res-life@jmu.edu or (540)568-4767.
"Higher education is about providing opportunities for students to become more whole human beings. Thus, in my opinion, the provision of opportunities to stretch their vision, interact with persons different than themselves, and be involved in providing service to others, is an all-important ingredient of a high-quality educational experience."- Dr. Vida S. Huber
Our Mission Statement
Photos
Trelawny Learning Community members take a road trip to Washington D.C. National Zoo
Roop Learning Community members take a trip to Kings Dominion in VA for a day filled with fun and physics study.
