PEG Residential Life
For more than two decades, MBU’s Program for the Exceptionally Gifted has provided a home away from home for bright and accomplished girls. We offer support and supervision while giving students the freedom to develop the necessary skills for independent living.
A Living-Learning Environment
All PEG freshmen live in Cynthia Haldenby Tyson Hall, an all-female living-learning environment and state-of-the-art residence hall. Ideally situated between Grafton Library and Pearce Science Center — just steps from classrooms, computer labs, and Hunt Dining Hall — Tyson Hall is a bright, spacious building designed to meet students’ academic and social needs. The building features a study room, lounge, laundry, and small kitchen on each of its three residence floors. Student rooms are arranged in clusters, each supervised by a live-in residence staff member. Surrounded by a community of engaged young scholars, and situated in the heart of the MBU campus, PEG students can socialize with friends, study in peace during quiet hours, and attend extra-curricular events in the evenings and on weekends.
Students live in Tyson Hall until they are at least 16 years old, and remain an important part of the program and community even if they choose to live elsewhere. PEG staff continues to provide support as needed and welcomes visits and involvement from our older students.
Support and Supervision
The PEG staff provides supervision, programming, and emotional support 24 hours a day, seven days a week, without infringing on students’ privacy or autonomy.
Full-time day staff are available from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays, and six live-in staff members are on duty during nights and weekends. PEG staff are trained in gifted education, and ready to meet the needs of gifted girls. PEG staff lead evening activities, weekend trips, provide transportation, and are available to help meet the academic, social, and emotional needs of students.
“Our Space”
Tyson Hall is the hub of social, academic, and emotional life for students in the Program for the Exceptionally Gifted. It’s part of the MBU campus, but it belongs to PEG students as a place they can call their own.
“Tyson Hall is our space. Whatever is going on in class, or on the rest of campus, we know we can come back here to relax, recharge, and feel at home. You will always find someone to talk with about a concern or share good news, and there is always a staff member here if you need a shoulder to lean on.”
—Camry, PEG Student
Beyond the PEG Center
PEG students are part of the MBU campus community, and part of the community of Staunton, VA. They’re encouraged not just to participate but also take leadership roles in the many student clubs and organizations at MBU. In fact, several PEG students have served as MBU Student Government Association presidents! PEG students can participate in all of MBU’s Division III sports teams and can explore — on their own, with friends, or with PEG staff — everything downtown Staunton has to offer. Movie nights at the Visulite, homemade gelato at the Split Banana, or hikes in the Blue Ridge Mountains. There’s so much for PEG students just outside the doors of Tyson Hall.