At San Francisco Bay University, bold ideas turn into reality. On June 20, over 100 students, staff and faculty members celebrated the grand opening of the Student Success Hub and Student Lounge.

The Student Success Hub and Student Lounge were created in response to student dreams for a centralized space where Bayhawks can gather, learn, teach and enjoy community. Guided by SFBU’s values of accessibility and innovation, the SFBU Campus Operations and Facilities team leaned into student requests and went above and beyond by designing two new spaces. 

The Student Success Hub, located across SFBU’s main building, is now home to the Student Success Team. Students can go there to receive one-on-one career and academic advising, study and mingle in the communal work area and receive wellness counseling. Meanwhile, the Student Lounge is connected to the main building and is a communal space for students to play, rest and gather.

“The facility team has four members, and they've all stepped up to the plate and done a lot of renovations to help build this,” said Director of Campus Operations Maytheni Allen. “I want to give students a place to go on the weekends to hang out and be entertained beside their apartments. It's a nice experience for them to have, especially as college students.”

As the SFBU community gathered in celebration, President Nick Ladany kicked off the event with a call to continually promote student success by embracing innovation and community. This was followed by inspiring remarks from student body president Amrita Thapa and SFBU Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Lisa Millora. Everyone held their breath as Ladany and Thapa cut the ribbon before exploding in joyous celebration, ending the opening ceremony on a high note.

Students were thrilled when exploring the new Student Lounge, which houses two video game consoles, a shuffleboard table, an indoor basketball set, a large TV, an air hockey table, a foosball table, a pool table, a dartboard and four ping pong tables. 

“I'm putting in a flavored water machine system for them, and we're probably going to put a cooler in there,” Allen said. “So if the students want to have a grab-and-go lunch or they want to store food in there in the near future, they’ll have the ability to do that.”

People eagerly split into teams as they engaged in friendly competition. Additionally, staff, faculty and students participated in an intense scavenger hunt, where students had the opportunity to win and go home with prizes such as their own foosball table. 

The celebration continued as students enjoyed ice cream sandwiches and cupcakes, sang along to upbeat music and took memorable photos with faculty, staff and other Bayhawks.

These two new spaces are testament to SFBU’s priority to promote student well-being. They were made possible through the combined efforts of SFBU’s administration, staff and student body. By combining innovation with people-first design thinking, SFBU turned bold ideas into a reality for all of its community members to enjoy.

“The investment is worth it,” Allen said. “We're doing this for our students, and that's the most important thing.”

Meet the Student Success Team here.

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