Wellspring: Living and Learning Community

What is Wellspring?

Wellspring is a unique opportunity for first-year students who are interested in engaging with their community, both on and off campus.

In this intentional living and learning program, students live together in a residence hall, benefit from unique community-building programming, and gain academic credit for weekly volunteer efforts and discussion groups.

Wellspring students explore the questions and insights that arise when they authentically engage the world around them.

Helping you find your place in the Millsaps family

Wellspring students are able to develop and adjust to the college life amongst similarly-motivated peers. The opportunity to serve the community and participate in thought-provoking discussion together helps to ease the transition from high school to college.

Through Wellspring, students are able to find their home-away-from-home at Millsaps and in the Jackson community.

"I imagined a group of people - kind, intelligent, giving people - in whom I would find friendship and shared need to give of our time. To my surprise, gladness, and appreciation this has been exactly the case."

- Mary Francis Ivey
Wellspring 2012

"Wellspring has helped me transition from high school to college and has allowed me to create ties to the community in which I now live. Furthermore, Wellspring has allowed me to immediately feel connected and involved in Millsaps, which was something that I was worried about at the start of the semester. I have made lifelong friends who are also involved in Wellspring."

- Ellen Smith
Wellspring 2012

Learning through Community Engagement

Wellspring students engage their community through volunteering each week at various sites in Jackson. Whether working in the Midtown Community Garden, tutoring at Rowan Middle School, or sharing meals with seniors at the weekly congregate lunch, these students offer their time and energy, while gaining so much in return.

Students also receive academic credit for Wellspring, writing about and discussing their experiences in a civic reflection class led by the faculty director of Wellspring and the 1 Campus 1 Community Fellows.

The ideal Wellspringer is someone who:

• maintains a positive attitude even when times are challenging
• is genuinely committed to community transformation
• is able to learn from challenges and setbacks
• is not afraid to step outside her or his comfort zone
• is a team player who represents the college with integrity and maturity
• embraces a weekly volunteer commitment as a personal growth opportunity

"I had the opportunity to understand the way American students behave and their ideas, which really helps me adapt more quickly than other international students. The meetings that we have every other week have broadened my views and helped me understand American culture."

- Pengfei "Rocky" Xu
Wellspring 2012

"Coming into Wellspring, I expected to help the students, but I didn't anticipate how much my community engagement would teach me and how much it would allow me to grow as a person. The students at Brown Elementary have taught me much more than I could have imagined."

- Devin Winsett
Wellspring 2012

Get your college career off to a great start!

The Wellspring  program helps students transition to college, allowing them to find their place in the Millsaps and Jackson communities.

Not only that, Wellspring develops leaders. These students have the unique opportunity to impact their community, and have a forum in which to learn about their strengths, interests, and motivations.

Help make a difference - join Wellspring!

Wellspring strives to teach students how to make a difference with their futures by allowing them to make a difference today.

Apply to Wellspring today (PDF)

"Overall, I believe that Wellspring has helped me understand the importance of humans working as a team. I will benefit from these lessons for the rest of my life."

- Joseph Donahue
Wellspring 2012

"Millsaps is serious when it comes to improving the community. The problems in the community are not seen as a chore; rather, they are seen as an opportunity ... differences do present challenges and difficulties up front, but through communication and understanding these challenges turn into assets and strengths."

- Rajan Hanstad
Wellspring 2012