Journal of Namibian Studies, 33 S2(2023): 4711–4733 ISSN: 2197-5523 (online) 4711 Weaving identities and stories about the boarding school of the Copiapó mining school and the student residence of the University of Atacama Carmen Burgos 1 , Cory Duarte 2 , Veronica Olivares 3 , Karen Pino 4 1 Department of Basic Education, University of Atacama, carmen,burgos@uda.cl 2 Department of Social Work, Universidad de Atacama 34 Department of Basic Education, University of Atacama Abstract The purpose of this study is to construct a historical-discursive description of the experiences of key individuals who lived in student homes, boarding schools located in the third region of Atacama. These institutions are operated and sponsored by the University of Atacama, the region's sole state and regional university. This tour shows a retrospective look at the boarding schools that existed from 1900 and 2019 in order to understand the discourse and the configuration of subjectivity, the identity traits of individuals who lived part of their lives in student homes, boarding schools in a non-linear way. This research analyzes narrative discourse, with evidence of the prevalence and stratification, to answer two main questions: How does living in a student residence shape present identity? And how do individuals view themselves in relation to the identity traits formed during their time in the residence? To achieve this, we use the Goffmanian category of total institution and Foucauldian categories of knowledge, symbolic technology, control and domination technology – signs that are stratified-and technologies of self-care. By examining open narrative character, which allows for the creation and freedom of subjectivities, we can gain insight into the features of present identity that may be influenced by past experiences in student residences. Keywords: student life, discourse, narrative, student residence, total institution, identity traits. Introduction This study emerges from the current circumstances of university life, in which virtual education has become a banner of struggle times of the pandemic. In this context, we are interested in exploring the potential of these new educational proposals: could they provide opportunities for