First Year Studies helps students adjust
0Written by Corey Fields
A big part of becoming a UPIKE Bear is taking the first-year studies seminar.
Mathys Meyer, associate professor of biology, and is the first year program director. Meyer said that going to college is like going to a new world and starting a new life. The first year experience and the seminar help students adjust to this new life by building a community between faculty and students and teaching them where to go if they have a problem. For the class, students complete four activity reviews, watch a common film together, watch the presidential debate, and go to a networking lunch to meet the faculty and learn what they do. The assignments are designed to help students make the transition to college, but students have mixed reviews.
“[It was a] waste of time,” said an anonymous freshmen student.
When asked what he thought about first year studies, Kenton Hall, a freshman, replied that it is important for new students, and it gives them an opportunity to make new friends. Hall is a biology major with a chemistry minor, and participates in Baptist Campus Ministries trips, and has an after-school job. For his volunteer work, he painted the asphalt at Archer Park and cleaned the tennis court.
The first year experience is helping UPIKE students grow and learn lessons they will remember throughout their college experience no matter where it may lead.