Saint Leo students, faculty, and staff strive to incorporate the core values of Community, Respect, Integrity, Excellence, Responsible Stewardship, and Personal Development into their daily academic and personal lives.
Photo credit: Wakens Leonard
Saint Leo University, a private, Catholic university located in the small city of Saint Leo, Florida, is a university unlike any other. It values diversity as it educates students from all around the world and embraces its unique core values while providing an engaging and ever-growing environment.
Its students are numbered at over 15,000 worldwide, but around 2,200 live on campus or commute from nearby cities. These students are either proudly centered all over the world and study online or have traveled long distances from their homes to reside at Saint Leo’s beautiful campus on a delightful lake.
Its compact, yet spacious campus can make its students feel comfortable and at home. Dorms filled with roommates that turn into best friends are only one of the many benefits that being part of such a captivating campus offers.
It contains small classrooms led by professors who dedicate their time to helping develop every student as an individual in hopes of successfully preparing them for their future careers. This compelling environment stands in comparison to other universities with auditoriums full of students led by professors that view their students as just another identification number on an attendance sheet.
“It’s [Saint Leo] small and safe. I love how everyone knows one another. It feels like family, like a home away from home,” stated sophomore, religion major Allison Asher.
Everything done at the University encompasses its six core values: Community, Respect, Integrity, Excellence, Responsible Stewardship and Personal Development. Its halls proudly display these on their walls in hopes of reminding the students and staff of how important it is to not only study and work by them but also to live by them since they provide such a strong foundation. Following these core values does not dull the college experience, though. Instead, it reinforces the activities held to make them meaningful.
Since the campus is a bit isolated, the University’s Campus Activities Board brings events to the campus, and the school provides shuttles that escort students to nearby stores and restaurants for free. The activities held on campus include bringing popular singers to perform, artists, and much more so that students engage in fun activities with their friends and make unforgettable memories that are sometimes once in a lifetime opportunities. Also, the shuttles that provide transportation to off-campus locations give students without cars the opportunity to stock up on snacks and buy other necessary items as they visit various stores.
To top these great qualities, Saint Leo has an awesome cafeteria that serves various freshly made food and is undeniably mouthwatering. One may think to themselves that all universities have such buffets, but the food at Saint Leo is uniquely made with love by chefs who connect with the students and as a result, give the food a special touch. Students always look forward to relaxing with friends at the “café” while recharging their energy.
Saint Leo’s environment is light and enjoyable at all times. Smiles are constantly on the students’ and staff’s faces as they make their way to their destination, assuring to all that can see that Saint Leo is the place to be.
