Education 10.12 - Flipbook - Page 3
The Baltimore Sun | Sunday, October 12, 2025 3
Helping students
succeed
From food delivered
by robots to academic
coaching, colleges
step up their game
W
hether you are a firstyear student, transfer
student or approaching
graduation, all college
students could use a little
support. With this in mind, Loyola
University Maryland opened The
Thrive Center for Student Success
AACC students practice yoga at an Earth Day event.
earlier this year, centralizing support
systems for students while also
launching new initiatives. Raven
Williams, dean of student success,
says that the goal is to increase
retention and graduation rates, while
providing a supportive, safe place
for students to go.
“The Thrive Center for Student
Success provides a comprehensive
and cohesive model for holistic
success coaching through a variety
of programs. One of the key ones
is orientation and onboarding of
first-year students where we aim to
connect with students the moment
they decide on attending Loyola.
We provide them a point person
who will act as an accountability
partner and help them connect to
academic and social resources on
campus,” says Williams. “We have
student leaders called ‘Evergreens,’
who provide yearlong support for
first-year students by checking in on
academic progress and help them
find student organizations and other
ways to get involved on campus.”
The Thrive Center for Student
Success also hosts cultural
and
identity-based
student
organizations that foster connection
and empowerment, providing a
platform for advocacy, education
and community engagement.
These groups, ranging from the
Asian Cultural Alliance, Association
of Latinx Students, Black Student
Association, and The LGBTQ+
Experience are a key component of
student retention, Williams notes.
“We also want to support our
growing number of commuter
students from Baltimore City and
Baltimore County. They, too, want a
true campus experience and to be
connected, even if they don’t reside
on campus,” she adds.
Williams says that students can
stop by the Center on a walk-in
basis to attain services. “We also
want to meet them where they are
by participating in campus events
and meeting with student groups
to raise awareness. In addition to
visiting the Center, we urge them
to get to know Baltimore outside of
our beautiful campus by supporting
local businesses and restaurants
and engaging with the community at
the nearby Govans Farmers Market,”
Williams says.
Towson University is helping
students succeed in a different way
– by ensuring that they stay sharp
by fueling their bodies with delicious
food wherever they are on campus,
delivered by a robot, no less.
Rich Coburn of Aramark
Collegiate Hospitality and the
account liaison between Aramark
and Towson University shares that
the program began earlier this year
and was immediately popular with
students. “When you are walking
to class and a robot rolls by with
someone’s lunch, it definitely draws
attention,” he laughs. Students can
place an order via Grubhub and
have a robot deliver their meal to
them at various points on campus.
“We are averaging about 100
orders a day and we expect that
number to rise to 150 to 175 once
we onboard Chick-fil-A into the
program,” Coburn says. “The goal is
to meet students where they are so
that they can focus on their studies.”
Coburn says that many orders
are for dinner and late night hours
when students are probably in need
of food for late-night study sessions.
Towson students also can get food
in a hurry thanks to the school’s 24/7
Tiger Express that provides access
to all students and is completely
autonomous – students scan in and
scan out with their OneCard or credit
card, and AI charges the students
when they leave.
Coburn adds that Towson has
a registered dietitian onsite every
day and is committed to providing
food that accommodates students’
allergies and tastes. “The staff
meets with student groups on a
regular basis. Based on feedback,
we added a Halal station that is very
popular with students,” he says.
Leadership is a quality valued by
all employers, but how do college
students not only learn leadership
skills but also put them to good
use? Anne Arundel Community
College’s Leadership Challenge
Program does just that by focusing
on developing students into active
leaders and positive change-makers
through workshops throughout
the academic year and by having
students complete a Leadership
Change project.
Lea Brisbane, leadership and
