Catie Cleveland
Center for Intentionality
Ben Navarro and CofC President Andrew T. Hsu
At the College of Charleston, intentionality has become more than a course on living better and is changing the way students approach their lives.
The growing movement took a major step forward on Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025, with the opening of the new Center for Intentionality at 159 Rutledge Avenue. It’s a space designed to help students meet new friends, challenge themselves and grow.
“We’re the luckiest college students in the country to have access to both the concepts of intentionality and a place to put them into practice,” says Marina Dryer, an accounting major and president of the College’s Intentionality Club, which launched this fall. “Intentionality is about getting a little bit better every day, and knowing those small steps can create lasting change – and the center is where we put all of that into action as a community.”
The center is made possible through a gift from Ben Navarro, a Charleston businessman and philanthropist who teaches the Intentionality course at the College, and it operates in partnership with the Intentionality Club.
Navarro created the Intentionality curriculum by drawing on his experiences, reflections and years of observing commonalities among highly successful people. Offered through the Business School, the course focuses on intentionality’s principles, including building better habits, powering the body, managing the mind and finding community.
Students who complete the course will help design and manage programs hosted at the center.
“This new center stands as a perfect expression of the College’s enduring call to action – specifically, the Greek words found on Porter’s Lodge stating to 'know thyself,'" says CofC President Andrew T. Hsu. “At the Center for Intentionality, our students will not only discover who they are, but will also work toward the selves they aspire to become. It will be a place where curiosity meets purpose and where reflection turns into direction.”
The center’s first floor serves as a community space with a kitchenette, kombucha on tap, water and light refreshments. The second floor is designed for yoga and movement-based meditation, as well as other events such as movie nights and fireside chats. The third floor features a study, along with an intentionality library and reflection room.
During the grand opening event, Navarro encouraged students to take small steps to be who they want to become before they’re “ready.”
“I’m not better than anyone else, but I am willing to take action and I have the humility to be willing to fail,” he told students. “Intentionality can radically change your life, but only if you invest time and effort. Everything you need to build a meaningful life is already within you, and this opportunity is to recognize that and take deliberate steps toward your goal. My hope is that what begins here at the College of Charleston becomes a model for campuses across the country.”
The Intentionality Club welcomes all students to participate in its events. Any student in good standing can access the Center for Intentionality during open hours this fall, and minimum participation requirements will launch in the spring.
Hear what Ben Navarro has to say about the College's Intentionality course: