By: Gwendolyn Loney
For most students living in a residence hall, some of the most important conversations that they
can have happen in hallways, dorm rooms and late-night conversations with friends. In Talge
Hall, a new group of student volunteer chaplains is working to make sure that those everyday
moments can also become opportunities for connections, spiritual support and encouragement.
Established this school year, the Talge Hall Volunteer Chaplain Program brings together 11 men
who serve as student chaplains throughout the residence hall. Each volunteer chaplain is assigned
one or two halls, where his role is less about formal ministry and more about intentionally
becoming part of that hall’s community.
The volunteer chaplains build relationships with residents, check in with students, work
alongside resident assistants and help with spiritual programming throughout the dorm. They
look to become friends with the students in their halls so that when someone needs support,
prayer or someone to listen, there is already a relationship established.
The program is directed by Aidan Sammons, the Talge Hall Boy’s Chaplain, and operates
through the Office of Ministry and Missions in cooperation with the Talge Hall deans and
resident assistants. Rather than waiting for students to seek out spiritual support, the program
puts the volunteer chaplains directly within the everyday life of the residence hall.
For volunteer chaplain Davi De Oliveira, a freshman theology major, that personal connection is
one of the program’s greatest strengths.
“Because of how personal the volunteer chaplaincy program is, we are reshaping an
individualistic culture into one where connection is a blessing and vulnerability is a strength,” De
Oliviera said. “As we are there for the students, they realize they are not alone, and that prayer
has power. As we are there for them, we show them that God is there for them too.”
That presence changes what ministry can look like. A student does not necessarily have to attend
a formal Bible study, schedule a meeting or walk into a church. For them, spiritual care can
begin with seeing a familiar face in the hall and knowing that person genuinely cares about how
things are going.
Volunteer chaplain Isaiah Ramos, another freshman theology major, has seen the program create
opportunities to recognize needs that may otherwise go unnoticed.
“As a volunteer chaplain for the boys’ dorm, I feel this program has made a meaningful impact,”
Ramos said. “It helps us recognize the boys’ needs and provide the spiritual support they need to
get through times of spiritual darkness.”
College students can be surrounded by people and still experience the feeling of isolation.
Between classes, work, relationships and the overall pressures of college life, personal struggles
are not always visible. Sammons and his team of volunteer chaplains hope to address that
problem by creating a culture where students know that they have people they can easily go to
who are willing to notice, listen and do life alongside them.
For volunteer chaplain Victor Alvarez, a sophomore first-year bible worker, that has helped
change the way he views the purpose of the residence hall itself.
“As a part of the volunteer dorm chaplains, I believe this program has helped transform the dorm
from more than a place to sleep to a place where guys can feel heard and know that God loves
them,” Alvarez said.
That change is what this program hopes to accomplish. Talge Hall will always be where students
return to after class to study, hang out with friends and sleep at the end of the day. But through
the relationships being built by the volunteer chaplains, it can also become a place where
students feel known.
These volunteer chaplains are not trying to replace the resident assistants, pastors or professional
counselors. Rather, they are trying to be peers who are available for others through friendship
first.
Through these moments, the volunteer chaplaincy program is working towards making Talge
Hall not only a place where students live, but a community where they can feel supported, heard
and reminded that they do not have to walk through life or faith alone.
