Written by: Sadie Latimer | News Editor
The beginning of Winter term was marked by the opening of the Student Success Center — SSC. Construction of the building started August 2023, and it was finally open to the public Jan. 6th, 2025.
The new building was built on the foundation of the previous Education building, which was the primary place for education students before the Richard Woodcock Education Center opened in 2016.
The SSC is located on Monmouth Avenue next to Hamersly Library. It has the charm of Western’s brick buildings, but with a modern twist. A balcony furnished with tables and chairs overlooks the central street on campus.
The SSC is now home to many preexisting programs, including the Math Center, Student Success and Advising general tutoring, Center for Professional Pathways, Multicultural Student Services and Programs, Student Enrichment Program, Disability Access Services and more.
“This Student Success Center will be a key building as we continue to support our students, including many first generation and historically underserved students,” President Jesse Peters said in a July 2023 press release. “Creating a building that will champion our students’ needs all in one space is instrumental to our university’s mission.”
Brianna Jones, an educational adviser now located in the SSC, advises students with documented disabilities as well as low income and first-generation students.
“We help with registration for classes, academic projectors, financial literacy and financial aid assistance … and a little bit of everything,” Jones said.
Before the SSC, Jones worked in the Student Advising Center on Church Street. “It’s nice to have a space that’s ours, has more open space and has the opportunity to give students a place to hang out, study and have a place of their own.”
A first-generation student center is on the first floor of the SSC. “It’s a lounge area,” Jones said. “That’s a place where they can go to use the computer lab … and then it has a little patio where they can see a little pond. We call it the retention pond.” The first-generation area will also eventually have a TV to play movies for students.
Dana Nunez-Silva is Western’s first gen coordinator. The first-generation area is “specifically for our TRIO and first-gen students, but anybody is welcome,” Nunez-Silva said. “It’s a space to build community more intentionally than the space that we were able to have before.”
The SSC has an open concept, which helps with connecting every program in the building. The large windows let in natural light that makes the building feel more homely.
“I’m very excited about having this new space,” Nunez-Silva said. “I really like how it facilitates connection and community a lot more than the space we had previously … Students should visit the new building because it is, in my opinion, unlike any other building on campus.”
Although the building is not fully furnished yet, it is still open to students who want to study, meet with advisers and tutors or socialize with other students.
Jan. 8, a FAFSA completion workshop was held in the SCC. In the future, the building will be the hotspot for workshops and other events. Nunez-Silva has plans to create “accountability hours” in the SSC, which will be a designated time and place for students to do their work.
“Something I want to do in collaboration with the tutoring center is the accountability hours,” Nunez-Silva said. “It’s essentially (a set) time to be held accountable by your peers. Think about it as a quiet community that comes in all at one time to do homework.”
The new building will also eventually host meetings for the Tri-Alpha Honor Society. Nunez-Silva also hopes to host peer mentoring in the future, and also possibly designated first-generation peer mentoring.
This new building is a breath of fresh air for students and staff alike. “It’s something new and different,” Nunez-Silva said.
The SSC is the home-base for any resources students might need, from tutoring and advising to studying and socializing. “It’s meant to be a one-stop shop for students that don’t know where to start,” Nunez-Silva said. All students have a variety of needs, and it is difficult to know how to go about getting those needs fulfilled. The SSC has many of the resources available to students, all in one place.
“Take advantage of this space,” Nunez-Silva said. “Take advantage of the resources and the advisers.” The advisers, tutors and other staff all share the same goal of supporting students and helping them reach their full potential.
Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu
