A unique living opportunity is coming to UW-Eau Claire. If you have an interest in other cultures and would like to meet new people, the new Global Learning Community may be the place for you.

Next fall Katharine Thomas Hall will become an international neighborhood. Eau Claire students will have the chance to live in an international atmosphere with others who share similar interests, Hall Director of Katharine Thomas Hall, Mark Baccei said.

According to the Housing and Residence Life Web site, the GLC “is a positive living community that attempts to bridge the gap between the classroom and where students live.”

Baccei said the GLC will be similar to other dorms, with a wide array of wing events; however, the wing events will have an intentional international theme. Expected events include an international potluck, faculty and staff dinners, a foreign language film series, cultural art shows, open-mic nights and other similar activities.

“The key thing that will be different from the average wing event is the faculty involvement,” Baccei said.

In one upcoming event, faculty members will play an important role, he said. The international potluck, which will be held March 10, will feature food dishes brought by both students and faculty.

Junior Pakou Vang will be a Resident Assistant in the GLC next semester.

“I think that it will be different in the idea that learning won’t only be happening in a classroom setting but application of that learning will happen where you live,” she said.

She said she is looking forward to the planned events, as well as, “just befriending a wing mate who is from a different culture, ethnic background or even country.”

Ebba Hjertstedt, a student a Marquette University, lives in a community similar to GLC called Marquette Global Village. She said she enjoys living there and it has opened her eyes to many different ways of living. She said it is an opportunity that Eau Claire students should definitely take advantage of.

“You get to experience the world without actually leaving America,” she said.

There will be a GLC open house March 5 at 3:30 p.m., and room sign-up will take place from 8 to 9 p.m. March 6 in Katharine Thomas Hall. To pre-register or ask questions, send an email to [email protected].