BEMIDJI-A multi-million dollar dorm at Oak Hills Christian College opened for students last month, and is set for a public tour this weekend. The Robert H. Thompson Memorial Residence Hall has room for 88 students and a handful of staff. A public dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at the college. The new building sits near the Lake Marquette shore where an old administration building used to be, and the college already tore down one old dorm last fall. A second is slated to come down this spring or summer.
"We have this beautiful lakeside setting, but our buildings are old and tired," said Joan Berntson, the college's vice president for advancement. "The old dorms were hard to heat, they were hard to keep cool. There was no bathrooms in the rooms...It was a barrier for students to come here, and so we wanted to remove the barriers and make it much easier for our students in a new residence hall." The new building has four halls and students are arranged by gender. In a girls' hall, students had written whiteboard messages about tough exams and pet frogs interspersed with messages about God's love. The dorms are mostly double occupancies, and each has its own air conditioner and private bathroom. In the soon-to-be-furnished common areas on Thursday, students studied, snacked or played pool. The new residence hall also one apartment-style living spaces for residence directors or students with families. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3177395","attributes":{"alt":"The Robert H. Thompson Memorial Residence Hall at Oak Hills Christian College. ","class":"media-image","height":"357","title":"","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"480"}}]] Berntson said the college has about 100 students enrolled, including some online post-secondary enrollment options students, but has space for about 200. Staffers have raised $3.4 million of the school's $4.3 million goal for the building project. The remaining $900,000 or so would cover furniture, landscaping, "resurfacing" some other campus buildings, and removing the old dorms, according to a pamphlet supplied by the college. Berntson said an anonymous donor agreed to match $250,000 worth of donations, and that several Bemidji-area charitable organizations-like the Neilson Foundation-had contributed money as well. The college itself offers 11 bachelor's degrees, six associate degrees, and a one-year certificate. Staff there aim to provide "biblically-centered higher education which contributes to growth in Christlikeness and prepares students for effective service in their homes, careers, churches and communities."BEMIDJI-A multi-million dollar dorm at Oak Hills Christian College opened for students last month, and is set for a public tour this weekend. The Robert H. Thompson Memorial Residence Hall has room for 88 students and a handful of staff. A public dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at the college. The new building sits near the Lake Marquette shore where an old administration building used to be, and the college already tore down one old dorm last fall. A second is slated to come down this spring or summer. [[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3177393","attributes":{"alt":"Oak Hills Christian College Vice President for Advancement Joan Berntson gives a tour of the new Residence Hall. ","class":"media-image","height":"368","title":"","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"480"}}]] "We have this beautiful lakeside setting, but our buildings are old and tired," said Joan Berntson, the college's vice president for advancement. "The old dorms were hard to heat, they were hard to keep cool. There was no bathrooms in the rooms...It was a barrier for students to come here, and so we wanted to remove the barriers and make it much easier for our students in a new residence hall." The new building has four halls and students are arranged by gender. In a girls' hall, students had written whiteboard messages about tough exams and pet frogs interspersed with messages about God's love. The dorms are mostly double occupancies, and each has its own air conditioner and private bathroom. In the soon-to-be-furnished common areas on Thursday, students studied, snacked or played pool. The new residence hall also one apartment-style living spaces for residence directors or students with families.
Berntson said the college has about 100 students enrolled, including some online post-secondary enrollment options students, but has space for about 200. Staffers have raised $3.4 million of the school's $4.3 million goal for the building project. The remaining $900,000 or so would cover furniture, landscaping, "resurfacing" some other campus buildings, and removing the old dorms, according to a pamphlet supplied by the college. Berntson said an anonymous donor agreed to match $250,000 worth of donations, and that several Bemidji-area charitable organizations-like the Neilson Foundation-had contributed money as well. The college itself offers 11 bachelor's degrees, six associate degrees, and a one-year certificate. Staff there aim to provide "biblically-centered higher education which contributes to growth in Christlikeness and prepares students for effective service in their homes, careers, churches and communities."BEMIDJI-A multi-million dollar dorm at Oak Hills Christian College opened for students last month, and is set for a public tour this weekend.The Robert H. Thompson Memorial Residence Hall has room for 88 students and a handful of staff. A public dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at the college.The new building sits near the Lake Marquette shore where an old administration building used to be, and the college already tore down one old dorm last fall. A second is slated to come down this spring or summer.
"We have this beautiful lakeside setting, but our buildings are old and tired," said Joan Berntson, the college's vice president for advancement. "The old dorms were hard to heat, they were hard to keep cool. There was no bathrooms in the rooms...It was a barrier for students to come here, and so we wanted to remove the barriers and make it much easier for our students in a new residence hall."The new building has four halls and students are arranged by gender. In a girls' hall, students had written whiteboard messages about tough exams and pet frogs interspersed with messages about God's love. The dorms are mostly double occupancies, and each has its own air conditioner and private bathroom.In the soon-to-be-furnished common areas on Thursday, students studied, snacked or played pool.The new residence hall also one apartment-style living spaces for residence directors or students with families.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3177395","attributes":{"alt":"The Robert H. Thompson Memorial Residence Hall at Oak Hills Christian College. ","class":"media-image","height":"357","title":"","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"480"}}]]Berntson said the college has about 100 students enrolled, including some online post-secondary enrollment options students, but has space for about 200.Staffers have raised $3.4 million of the school's $4.3 million goal for the building project. The remaining $900,000 or so would cover furniture, landscaping, "resurfacing" some other campus buildings, and removing the old dorms, according to a pamphlet supplied by the college.Berntson said an anonymous donor agreed to match $250,000 worth of donations, and that several Bemidji-area charitable organizations-like the Neilson Foundation-had contributed money as well.The college itself offers 11 bachelor's degrees, six associate degrees, and a one-year certificate. Staff there aim to provide "biblically-centered higher education which contributes to growth in Christlikeness and prepares students for effective service in their homes, careers, churches and communities."BEMIDJI-A multi-million dollar dorm at Oak Hills Christian College opened for students last month, and is set for a public tour this weekend.The Robert H. Thompson Memorial Residence Hall has room for 88 students and a handful of staff. A public dedication ceremony is scheduled for 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 25, at the college.The new building sits near the Lake Marquette shore where an old administration building used to be, and the college already tore down one old dorm last fall. A second is slated to come down this spring or summer.[[{"type":"media","view_mode":"media_large","fid":"3177393","attributes":{"alt":"Oak Hills Christian College Vice President for Advancement Joan Berntson gives a tour of the new Residence Hall. ","class":"media-image","height":"368","title":"","typeof":"foaf:Image","width":"480"}}]]"We have this beautiful lakeside setting, but our buildings are old and tired," said Joan Berntson, the college's vice president for advancement. "The old dorms were hard to heat, they were hard to keep cool. There was no bathrooms in the rooms...It was a barrier for students to come here, and so we wanted to remove the barriers and make it much easier for our students in a new residence hall."The new building has four halls and students are arranged by gender. In a girls' hall, students had written whiteboard messages about tough exams and pet frogs interspersed with messages about God's love. The dorms are mostly double occupancies, and each has its own air conditioner and private bathroom.In the soon-to-be-furnished common areas on Thursday, students studied, snacked or played pool.The new residence hall also one apartment-style living spaces for residence directors or students with families.
Berntson said the college has about 100 students enrolled, including some online post-secondary enrollment options students, but has space for about 200.Staffers have raised $3.4 million of the school's $4.3 million goal for the building project. The remaining $900,000 or so would cover furniture, landscaping, "resurfacing" some other campus buildings, and removing the old dorms, according to a pamphlet supplied by the college.Berntson said an anonymous donor agreed to match $250,000 worth of donations, and that several Bemidji-area charitable organizations-like the Neilson Foundation-had contributed money as well.The college itself offers 11 bachelor's degrees, six associate degrees, and a one-year certificate. Staff there aim to provide "biblically-centered higher education which contributes to growth in Christlikeness and prepares students for effective service in their homes, careers, churches and communities."
