It’s Monday afternoon at Bryant’s Bristol House and 19 members of the Women’s Leadership Living Learning Community (LLC) are in the building’s downstairs classroom chatting about spring break, sharing Chipotle nacho chips, and figuring out if they should buy concert tickets to an upcoming performance. The women are taking a 15-minute break from a three-hour class with Terri Hasseler, Associate Dean of College of Arts and Sciences, and — instead of scrolling their cell phones in silence — the women catch up like they’re at a family dinner.  

Bryant’s Women’s Leadership LLC has been a hub for women to connect, network, and form strong bonds since the program welcomed its first cohort of women during fall 2019. These women have each other’s backs — whether it’s comforting someone who's homesick, finding them a toothbrush, or helping another member with a class.  

“Coming into college, I was looking for a fresh start, and I thought joining the LLC would be a great way to open this new chapter and make new connections,” says Talia Slavin ’26, a first-year Human Resource Management major. “I felt like I was going to find people I could connect with knowing that this would be a group of like-minded women looking to be leaders and make a change.” 

LLCs are residential programs that connect groups of students who share a common focus. These individuals live together and participate in shared courses, special events, and service projects. Hochberg Women’s Center and Pride Center Director Kelly Boutin, who formed the LLC along with Associate Provost and Professor of Communication Wendy Samter, says the university recruited 19 women in the program’s first year. Today, the LLC has grown to 68. 

“We built what we hoped: a sense of community, a sense of mentorship, and a sense of giving back to the institution and to each other,” says Hasseler, who became involved in the program’s early stages and teaches several of the LLC’s academic courses. 

The LLC was originally meant for first-years but quickly evolved into a four-year program per the first cohort’s request. 

“The women wanted to go off and do their own thing, but they wanted to have their home base,” says Boutin.  

Brianna Walker ’23, who’s double majoring in Team and Project Management and Global Supply Chain Management, is one of the LLC’s original members. The events have been her favorite part of the LLC; over the years, the group has held paint nights, spa nights, monthly community meals, and attended WaterFire in Providence.  

“I found some of my closest friends from the LLC,” says Walker, adding that she was a mentor to younger LLC members last year and feels a sense of community while watching them go through the LLC. 

The transition from high school to college can be intimidating, but the Women’s Leadership LLC can help make the adjustment easier, says Mary Holland, a Finance major. When first year LLC members arrive in the fall, they live together in Bristol House and have access to an LLC lounge, which is filled with couches, tables, snacks, yoga mats, a giant welcoming teddy bear, and vibrant paintings created by LLC women from past years. The lounge is meant for individuals to engage in conversations around empowerment, social justice, women’s issues, and leadership.  

In their first year, women attend two classes together: one in the fall and another in the spring. This year’s first-year cohort is learning about the importance of understanding your personal identity before you can become a champion of others. In Hasseler’s class, students are using identity and community to focus on climate justice and environmental racism.  

In years past, women looked at specific problems that existed on campus and the local community and developed a series of presentations addressing how these issues could be fixed. Women also curated boxes with sustainable products from women-owned businesses. Members then sold the boxes, and a percentage of sales was donated to the Rhode Island Coalition for Black Women.  

When the LLC transitioned to a four-year program, housing options expanded beyond the first year, and the LLC’s academic component was re-envisioned to include more offerings and a legacy project, which will launch when today’s sophomores are in their senior year. The LLC leadership is also conceptualizing peer-to-peer support models for students, faculty, and staff.   

First-year members in Hasseler’s class say they joined the LLC to make connections and find a group of women to bond with, as women make up a smaller percentage of students on campus.  

“I grew up in a high school which was not that diverse, so coming here I wanted to be more open-minded and learn from everybody who may be different from me so I can grow as a person,” says Anna White ’26, a Pre-Health major. 

The LLC centers inclusivity — welcoming commuters and upper-level students to its ranks. 

“It’s a good chance to bond with one another and develop a good group of friends,” says Dana Oscar ’26, a Finance major. “Essentially us living in such close quarters and being in the same classes and having this relationship has made us grow so close.” 

One aspect of the program that surprises Hasseler is how willing the women are to try things. Boutin adds that it’s amazing to watch the women grow through the program and take on leadership roles as they make their way to senior year.  

Back in Hasseler’s Monday class, LLC members wrap up their break and quiet down as Hasseler introduces the class’s afternoon speaker: May Babcock, a Providence-based ecocentric artist who makes paper out of invasive plant pulp. After hearing her story, LLC members will create their own paper and print their statement about climate justice on campus, which will be shared outside the group during a papermaking demo in the Unistructure’s Rotunda in the spring. 

While they may be a minority on campus, these women do not shy away from tough conversations. As leaders who uplift other women on campus and ensure all perspectives are considered, the LLC participants lead thoughtful conversations that extend beyond Bristol House and bring a creative and collaborative side of women’s leadership to the broader Bryant community.