In early February, Residence Life (ResLife) introduced the Intergenerational Engagement Residential Learning Community (RLC) as a new option within its Affiliate Housing program for the 2025-2026 school year. In a collaboration between ResLife and the Northfield Retirement Community (NRC), St. Olaf students will have the opportunity to live alongside senior residents and participate in shared activities and community engagement while living in the Northwood Pines townhouses.
The program was initially introduced as a temporary affiliate housing option during the 2024-2025 school year to accommodate dorm renovations in Hilleboe and Kittelsby. After receiving positive feedback, however, both St. Olaf and the retirement community’s management decided to make it a more permanent option.
In an email interview with The Olaf Messenger, Associate Dean of Students for Residence Life Christopher Medley said that continuing the program was first considered when several students approached ResLife to inquire about continuing to live at the NRC townhouses.
“With a limited need for Affiliate Housing [in 2025-2026], this was a great opportunity to align a dynamic experience for St. Olaf students and service,” Medley said.
According to the St. Olaf Housing website, students living in the Intergenerational Engagement RLC for the 2025-2026 school year will have “self-identified interests that connect with the community goals and participate in community-wide programming, event planning, and service.”
Engagement will be a core part of the program, especially after feedback from NRC residents and St. Olaf students alike, highlighting their shared appreciation for intergenerational interaction.
“Feedback from NRC residents remains consistently very positive,” said NRC Vice President of Housing Mallory Dingman in an email interview with The Olaf Messenger.
Dingman noted that shared social events with St. Olaf and NRC residents showed particular success.
“Through these gatherings, residents and students have enjoyed conversation through shared interests of studies or recreation, life stories and experiences, musical talents, etc,” Dingman said.
According to Dingman, the ongoing positive feedback played a key role in the decision to continue the program.
“This arrangement has organically shown positive engagement, and relationships between residents and students have flourished,” she said.
Flora Laun, a resident at one of the retirement homes in the NRC, said she has enjoyed having college students nearby.
“Everyone would like to welcome them because they’ve been wonderful to have,” Laun said.
For current students living in the NRC communities, none of whom had initially planned to live there, the experience has been worthwhile.
“I remember like the first night, we went to the parking lot and people were doing laps in their wheelchairs. So, definitely a change-up from normal campus life,” Maren Miller ’27 said.
The two have grown to love their space. There are benefits every student would appreciate, such as a living room and kitchen to themselves, as well as strict separation between school life and home life — something Evelyn Kreft ’27 values.
“It’s really nice going home and taking a load off… I just like that separation [between] when you’re on campus and [then] go home and it’s different,” Kreft said.
While the two won’t be living in the Northwood Pines next year, they still recommend it.
“It’s something different,” Miller said. “When [else] can you say you’ve lived in a retirement home?”