After closing in 2017, the Kenyon House reopened this school year as an additional form of housing for Asbury’s female students.
Enrollment is on the rise and the Beloved class of 2027 has made history as the largest incoming freshman class that Asbury has seen in 25 years. With that, the Kenyon House is now available as another housing option for women to make more room in Glide-Crawford and Kresge for underclassmen.
Emily Leininger, the Resident Director of Aldersgate, reached out to sophomore and junior women this summer offering up the opportunity to make the move from their current housing into the Kenyon House for a unique community living experience.
“Before I was at Asbury, I lived in a house that my church owned back in Illinois and it was kind of a neighborhood outreach sort of house, and I also lived with one other person intentionally,” Leininger said. “And we had specific rules that we lived by. I don’t want it to be exactly like that, but that kind of framed my vision and hope for this house: that it could be a place where women can come together and live intentionally with one another, but also serve the people around them – whether that’s this immediate neighborhood or the greater Asbury community.”
The Kenyon House is all about intentional community. Because the women are not living in a hall-style residence like Glide-Crawford or a suite-style setup such as Kresge, facilitating deep relationships takes time and commitment.
“You have to be intentional. I think intentionality is huge out here. But I also think that’s a big benefit of being out here, girls have to make an effort to build their community,” Leininger said.
Landrie Nickell, a sophomore who previously lived in Glide-Crawford, saw that the Kenyon House has many unique appeals that would be a good fit for her this year. “I love to cook, so having a kitchen was a really big plus for me, and just being able to host people. Hospitality is really important to me and I love having people over,” Nickell said.
Landrie views the Kenyon House as a “unique opportunity to live more like an adult outside of the dorms”, and she intends to do her part to create a holistic and welcoming community.
“I would love to be able to make meals for people”, said Nickell. “I think that’s a really good way to connect. I mean, Jesus sat down and had meals with his disciples and with a bunch of other people, so getting able to provide that space for conversation is something that I find important.”
Not only are there six students living in the house, but Ellie Paquette, a member of the class of 2023, serves as the Kenyon House Coordinator.
Paquette hopes that the Kenyon House can be “a place of rest and community where we can support each other in the evenings and throughout the day and in between classes.”
To create that special sense of community that she desires, the ladies of the Kenyon House are going to have weekly dinners together and go on a monthly prayer walk around campus.
Paquette hopes that the door of the Kenyon House can be open for more than just its residents, as well: “I want this to be a space where we can invite friends over and host events or meals for other groups of friends, too.”
As enrollment numbers continue to increase, it is the plan that the Kenyon House will continue to be a housing option for the upper-class women of Asbury.
“It’s really good to have that space to yourself but also have that opportunity to make really deep friendships”, said Nickell. “So I would say, if you are at all interested, definitely look into it and consider it because it is a really good opportunity.”
Article written by Megan Wallace.