Tucked away behind King Hall stands a building with which few traditional students are familiar: Hendricks Hall. For Center for Continuing Education students, though, Hendricks is an important hub for studying, killing time between classes and meeting up for group work.

This past year, the CCE Student Government Association finalized plans for renovating Hendricks, which contractors completed over J-Term.

“It used to be very quiet, and it wasn’t a very welcoming environment,” said junior and CCE activity director Monica Jones. “Now it’s a place for students to come together, and it’s more of a social area.”

Contractors removed a few walls and restructured offices to open the space more. To reflect Guilford College’s dedication to sustainability, the SGA kept much of the original furniture and carpeting. Although some of the desktop computers were initially removed and placed in storage, after hearing students needed them for work, Jones brought them back to the lobby.

The renovations have increased traffic to SGA, according to senior and CCE SGA President Sarah Dreier-Kasik.

“There are more people communicating with us,” Dreier-Kasik said. “We have also seen many more people using this area to socialize and work. It’s kind of designed — just in the set up of the chairs and things — to be a social studying environment, and it seems to be more lively.”

SGA has discussed these plans since last year. Students were encouraged to give feedback and attend SGA board meetings.

After discussing the renovations with IT&S and Buildings and Grounds, SGA approved the plans.

The SGA board then received bids from general contractors and chose the least expensive bid of about $30,000, nearing SGA’s initial idea of $25,000.

According to Dreier-Kasik, SGA tried to communicate with students as much as possible. Jones also placed the renovations’ blueprints in Hendricks’ lobby before winter break so everyone could see the upcoming changes.

“When we started the project last year, a lot of input went into the plans, how much money was spent and what contractor we went with was up to the SGA,” Dreier-Kasik said. “I think the biggest concern was that people were unsure about how the plans would translate to what would actually happen.”

These renovations were funded almost entirely by the CCE student body, according to Vice President for Finance Greg Bursavich. Typically renovation projects like this are funded by the school’s capital budget, but these were funded by CCE students’ activity fees, which is paid every semester.

According to Jones, almost all the project’s funding came from a rollover account of money the SGA saves annually from these fees. The fund is also used in areas like scholarships, but Jones said no scholarships or other programs were affected by the project. The final repainting, however, was covered by the College’s budget, costing about $5,000.

According to Dreier-Kasik, students have appreciated the changes.

“Hendricks Hall is a nice, relaxing and quiet environment for the CCE students to study in,” CCE senior Lee Hubler said in an email interview. “Any future improvements that will be made, I’m sure, will be a positive change for CCE students like myself.”

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