News Magazine of the UW Department of Communication
Rebecca Livingston, The Daily
Vision 16 consists of Christian housing for guys and girls that provide community and is a place where you can build friendships that can last your entire life.
"The Vish” as most students living in the housing like to call it, is different from most other housing on campus. It provides mentorship, small groups, and family style meals and housing.
“People on the outside view it as 'the Christian house,' but we don't want to be viewed that way, rather by how we live,” said Sarah Mazzoncini, the House Manager for the girl’s houses.
Vision 16 is not involved with any church or denomination and is not an organization. Its vision is simply to follow the principles of God and asking students to live for a common purpose.
“Living here opened doors to questions like, 'What is my faith?' and 'What do I believe?'” said Mazzoncini.
There are five houses in total, two guy’s houses and three girl’s houses. Each house has a different name, and they are: The South House, The North House, The Tree House, The Annex and The 17th Ave House.
When choosing which housing to live in on campus, people chose Vision 16 because The University of Washington is such a big place and people have a desire for community, said Mazzoncini.
One way in which Vision 16 is different then other housing is that they have small groups and mentorship in the housing.
“It's like having friends that are 20 years older then me,” said Mazzoncini. “One of the huge things was seeing them invest in my life.”
“You have mentors who want to be with you and spend time with you,” said Caitlin Karschney, who lives in the South House and is a junior studying drama at Seattle Central University.
Sarah Mazzoncini chose to be the girls House Manager because she loved being involved with the houses so much.
“Living here impacted me so much that I wanted to give girls that same experience,” said Mazzoncini.
Another huge reason in why people choose to live in Vision 16 is because of the close Christian community and the relationships that are centered on Christ.
“I wanted to be in a Christian community with girls who have the same beliefs who would help strengthen my walk with God,” said Karschney.
You can develop lifelong friendships that don’t only last a quarter, said Karschney.
“I'm a big fan of Christian community and I grew up in a church so I'm used to being around Christians,” said Evan Dunn, a sophomore studying Linguistics at the UW who lives in the Mannex.
His sister lived in the houses previously and she really enjoyed it, which influenced his decision, said Dunn.
“You get to know dozens of people because you always eat with them and there are lots of activities and we all share the same faith,” said Dunn. “The house is always a place I can go back to and relax.”
Another aspect of the housing is that it is a comfortable alternative to dorms and is comparable financially, said Dunn.
“I didn't think I wanted to live here, so many girls! But I chose to because I knew I'd be forced to get to know them. Something I otherwise would never have,” said Jenea Chambers, house facilitator and senior at the UW studying dance.
The building of relationships is a huge factor in these houses and is reinforced by the small groups, mentorship and family style dinners.
“People care. Actually, honestly care, where in other housing they don’t,” said Chambers. “I'm in this housing because I want to build relationships with people who I can share my life with. I have gotten people to be honest with me and hold me accountable. And also gotten good advice.”
People support each other in these houses in a way not seen in the dorm life or the Greek system.
“I learned that even if you are going through something awful, great or mediocre — they are always there to give you anything you need and serve you hand and foot,” said Chambers.
For random facts about Vision 16: Random facts about Vision 16
Links to Christian Housing:
Vision 16: http://www.vision16.net/
University Christian Housing: http://universitychristianhousing.com/main.html?src=%2F401.html
University Christian Union: http://www.ucu.com/about.html
University Ministries: http://www.upc.org/university/housing.aspx
The Purple Door: http://www.uwpurpledoor.com/
