Be Our Guest: Building Connections Outside The Classroom

Union University’s Student Activities Council hosted Be Our Guest over the week of Nov. 4. This annual event provides an opportunity for professors and students to connect outside the classroom by sharing meals in professors’ homes.

This event uses home-cooked meals and welcoming homes to foster relationships between faculty and students. By creating memories together outside of the school setting, students and professors are able to connect on a deeper level.

“I think Be Our Guest is a really personal way that professors get to show students they care about them. Because we get to see that in the classroom, but it’s also cool to get to see that outside of the classroom,” Emma Sanborn, senior conservation biology major, said.

Sanborn has attended Be Our Guest every year she has been at Union. This year Sanborn went to the home of her advisor and research mentor, Michael Schiebout.

Be Our Guest allows Sanborn to build relationships with professors in a way she prioritizes.

“Aside from just learning from them in the classroom and as a person, I think having any sort of connection with somebody who is ahead of you in life in that way is really valuable,” Sanborn said. “Dr. Schiebout has been able to give me advice on things in my research, but also on things related to internships and jobs. I think when you do have that closer relationship, you can feel comfortable going to them for any sort of question. I never feel bad about asking a question or asking for help because I know that he genuinely wants to be there for you.”

While Sanborn has attended Be Our Guest in the past, Cari Griffith, professor of photography, was new to the experience. This semester is Griffith’s first as an adjunct professor at Union University, but that didn’t keep her from seizing the opportunity to get to know her students outside the classroom.

“Hosting is just something that’s a part of our [her and her husband’s] life and that we love. I think it’s a natural part of who we are and what we do,” Griffith said. “This is a perfect event for us because I feel like that’s what we do.”

Griffith believes in the benefit of connecting with students and wants to live out the close professor-student relationships she experienced during her time at Union as a student.

“I think anytime that a professor has an opportunity for a nice one-on-one interactive conversation with a student that strengthens the relationship and hopefully the mutual respect — respect for both who they are outside of the classroom and in the classroom — I think that’s a part of what makes Union special,” Griffith said. “When I was here, I always felt like my professors were accessible both for things happening in the classroom and outside of the classroom. I get to carry that on because that’s what was modeled for me when I was here as a student.”

Be Our Guest builds relationships and leaves lasting impressions on both faculty and students.

“My favorite moment [from Be Our Guest] was probably when everyone was hanging out in the living room. There were lots of different conversations happening. Rob was bringing cookies out, and a student was playing the piano. I just kind of took a step back and watched everyone having such a great time,” Griffith said. “It just was just a really sweet and beautiful moment.”