VIDEO TRANSCRIPT

“I would love a giant MH out front to match the other Greek letters,” said Kirstin Bowns.

Nestled on the busy street known as fraternity row near UW-Madison is a former frat house that provides a one-of-a-kind college experience.

You find a community here,” Bowns said. “We are college housing that is a lot more than just college housing. You don’t just live here, you thrive here. ”

It is a home away from home.

“I’m Ashley. I’m from Chicago — the city of Chicago — and this is Mansfield Hall,” said Ashley Balber.

Bowns, the dorm’s executive director, described its purpose.

“Mansfield Hall is a living and learning community that serves college students that are neurodiverse or diverse learners,” she said. “It can include someone with ADHD, autism, any kind of learning difference like dysgraphia or dyslexia, processing disorders, anxiety.”

One resident of Mansfield Hall was getting some help from an advisor.

“Oh, here we go,” said Han Schuberth, a resident and film student at UW-Madison.

“This is brilliant — good find,” replied Naomi Krause, the dorm’s academic director.

“I’m glad I thought of this,” Schuberth replied.

There are three Mansfield Hall locations around the nation, with others in Eugene, Oregon and Burlington, Vermont. Bowns described who the community in Madison serves.

“We have international students, we have students from around the country,” she said. “We support students at Madison College, at Edgewood University and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.”

Bowns also described the scope of the dorm’s work.

“It can look like course planning. We do student life support, med management, learning how to cook, learning how to make friends, learning to communicate, executive functioning — so setting up systems of support for yourself,” she said.

Balber provided a tour of Mansfield Hall.

“This floor is all bedrooms. This one is mine,” Balber said.

At this super dorm, as it’s sometimes called, there are plenty of puzzles and games, but the residents do business there too.

“It’s almost like it was written in the stars,” Krause said while looking at a laptop.

“Oh, OK, they’re because they are weighted differently — that’s what changed,” Schuberth replied.

The nearly two dozen students don’t just learn to learn more independently, they learn life lessons that help them live more independently.

“I just need to see the numbers and how they — what happens,” said Isaac Moore while studying.

“I did not love that class either, so I really don’t want to have to take something like that again,” Schuberth said while receiving one-on-one help planning her class schedule.

Gavin Speranza leads a weekly community group.

Moore works through complex math equations during what’s called STEMtown.

Well, yeah, because that turns into three sets,” he said.

“Katie, how did marketing turn out for you?” asked Erik Landry, Mansfield Hall’s assistant director, of another resident.

He was leading the weekly tutoring session for those who need help with science, technology and math.

“You still got a 92 though? That’s awesome,” Landry added.

“What worked, like what helped overcome the testing anxiety? Just prepared?” he asked.

“The staff here are super helpful,” Moore shared.

Alissa, Sarah, Naomi, Eric and Coco the K-9, who casually provides therapy to the house as needed, are some of the almost two dozen staff at Mansfield Hall.

Moore said he lives with attention deficit disorder. For him, it’s hard to focus and stay organized.

“It never really impacted my school, so there was never any reason to, like, change it. You know, I would still do well on my tests and stuff, and so it was like whatever. But here, I really do have to, like, you know, I have a schedule and I have a meeting with Eric once a week to make sure that I’m — if I have any questions with math — I’m getting those done. I have Google Calendar now, so all my classes are in there, so I get reminders,” he explained. “I have this class on this day. I have due dates in my Google Calendar and stuff. I keep my work more organized. It’s not just chicken scratch on eight different papers.”

Mansfield Hall also provides support that helps students transition from living in their house to living on their own independently out in the community, which helps get them ready to live on their own in the real world once they’re done with school.

“I moved into a residence hall at Edgewood,” said Bennett Davishoff, who will live in his first apartment upon graduation. He’s in what’s called the Connections program at Mansfield Hall, designed for students making the transition away from dorm life to living on their own or with a roommate.

“I think it’s going to be very challenging, very tough, but I’m excited to give it a try because I’ve always wanted to live independently,” Davishoff said.

He described his goals.

“I have some symptoms of OCD, ADHD and autism,” Davishoff said. “I can be a perfectionist with the way things look in my room. I like things to look orderly and clean, which is also a good thing, but can also be hard.”

What isn’t hard — volunteering.

“Give a big round of applause for all of our volunteers today that came in,” said Kat Hemming, a lead volunteer at the Madison Senior Center.

It’s one of many organizations around Madison where people from Mansfield Hall lend a helping hand every week.

“We don’t have chocolate milk right now, but we do have no-fat, I think,” said Aiden Mattingly, a Mansfield Hall resident, while serving a meal at the senior center.”Oh yeah, definitely, where are the milks?”

Mattingly and everyone else say giving back helps them get job ready, and it helps them gain something else.

“I’d say the social skills really. It really helps with talking with people, and I mean like everyone here is really friendly,” Mattingly said.

“Some of those skills can go — from volunteering — can be utilized when applying for jobs,” Davishoff added.

Hemming loves to give. She has for years, and she loves the crew at Mansfield Hall.

“OK, let’s go to the next table,” Mattingly said.

Without the help from Mansfield Hall, Heming says the senior center would probably have two volunteers.

“Having the volunteers come in, not only do they talk to the seniors and it has more interaction, it’s a lot more exciting and they really help. They’re not just — I know it helps them — but it helps us as well,” she explained.

Back at Mansfield Hall, Schuberth and Krause continue working on class scheduling.

“But I also don’t want to take myself out of this class,” Schuberth said.

“I wouldn’t either,” Krause replied.

“Did I tell you all my second exam scores?” Schuberth asked.

“For your current classes? No,” Krause replied.

The goal at Mansfield Hall is straightforward.

“To provide equitable access to higher education and to prepare young adults for the world,” Bowns explained. “That can be getting a certificate. It can be an associate’s, a bachelor’s, a master’s. It can be learning to make a friend group for the first time and just try out college courses. It can be finding something they’re passionate about, feeling seen and heard for the first time.”

For students to make the most of being part of the Mansfield Hall family, Bowns hopes every one of them will embrace the experience

“Lean into it,” she said. “We’re not writing the script, we’re just supporting their story.”