{"id":4560,"date":"2014-02-06T12:03:20","date_gmt":"2014-02-06T17:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/?p=4560"},"modified":"2014-02-06T12:32:46","modified_gmt":"2014-02-06T17:32:46","slug":"introducing-a-real-world-voice-to-the-first-year-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/introducing-a-real-world-voice-to-the-first-year-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing a Real-World Voice to the First-Year Experience"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/i>By Jeff Hodges M.A.L.S. \u201911<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Peter

Peter Coogan and Patricia Hammer are codirectors of the first-year seminar program.<\/p><\/div>\n

In 2006, a faculty committee chaired by then-Dean of Academic Services Alison Ridley was given an assignment crucial to the university\u2019s reaccreditation: identify an aspect of student learning and develop a plan to improve it.<\/p>\n

Guided by Wayne Markert, who at that time served as university provost, the committee wanted to do more than fulfill a requirement; it sought to launch an initiative that would be transformative for Hollins students.<\/p>\n

When the committee members looked at their charge, \u201cthe first thing that struck us was that all our so-called \u2018signature\u2019 programs such as internships and study abroad were closed to first-year students. There was nothing specific for them to help them get going,\u201d recalls Associate Professor of History Peter Coogan. \u201cWe also figured out our first-year students were coming out of high school needing help with writing and thinking. What made sense to us was a program that focused on the first-year experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

To ensure that the initiative\u2019s impact could be accurately assessed, Coogan says Markert wisely advised the committee to emphasize academics instead of cocurricular activities as the program\u2019s centerpiece. \u201cSo we developed the idea for a series of first-year seminars that featured a set of common pedagogical goals. We figured if everyone had the same approach, there would be consistency across the seminars, and that would create a sense of cohesiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hollins\u2019 first-year seminar program (FYS) was thus conceived, and it has proved quantitatively and qualitatively to be an outright success. The university\u2019s scores in a number of National Survey of Student Engagement categories have improved dramatically, in some cases (including students accepting responsibility for their own role in their education; excitement about learning at the college level; and identifying, evaluating, and using appropriate research skills) far surpassing those of other women\u2019s colleges and peer institutions. At the same time, professors and students alike have reported anecdotal evidence to support the quantitative data: one student who wrote a play for her first-year seminar\u2019s final assignment went on in her college career to receive a top national playwriting honor from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, while another gained valuable self-confidence when she played before an audience a mountain dulcimer she constructed for a music seminar. \u201cThere\u2019s just this level of support that has been there in the past, but it hasn\u2019t been as organized,\u201d says Acting Vice President for Academic Affairs Patricia Hammer.<\/p>\n

In the fall of their first year, all Hollins students are required to complete a first-year seminar, which ties in with one or more of the four themes of the strategic plan the university developed in 2006: environmental and cultural sustainability, global and intercultural understanding, creativity, and leadership development. Each seminar is limited to 15 students, and the seminar instructors are the students\u2019 advisors for the first year. As noted in the Quality Enhancement Plan that Hollins completed for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, \u201cThese seminars [emphasize] not just the traditional skills of research, writing, and verbal communication, they also [seek] to improve students\u2019 passion for learning, their ability to learn collaboratively and to make connections between ideas across disciplines, and their abilities to solve problems actively and creatively.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coogan, who has served as co-director of FYS since its inception, credits the faculty for making it work. \u201cWhat we\u2019ve always done is trust the faculty who teach in the program to steer the ship and take it where they want. Forty-six faculty members representing 23 departments have taught in the program. That shows broad buy-in across campus. Most faculty members see this as something good. They\u2019re seeing their first-years are better advised because the advisor is the first-year seminar instructor. They get to look the students in the eye and see when something\u2019s wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hammer adds, \u201cProfessors are selected to teach the first-year seminars. They have to apply, they have to have a good idea for a course, and they have to work well with first-year students. We have this core group of faculty who are really engaged and excited.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coogan offers his greatest praise for the university\u2019s upper-class students who have served FYS as student success leaders (SSLs), attending the seminar classes and actively mentoring the first-year students. \u201cThe single most successful aspect of this program has been the SSLs,\u201d he says. \u201cIn almost every case they are not only our best students but our best people. What they have brought to this is a sense of what it\u2019s like to be an 18-year-old who is scared and doesn\u2019t know how to get things done, who to talk to, or how to even approach a professor. They have made it so much easier for faculty, and when we conduct our assessments, the SSLs always come out as the highest-ranked part of the program.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"CeceliaCecelia Parks \u201914<\/strong> is in her second year as an SSL and was drawn to the program by her own experience as a first-year student. \u201cMy SSL helped me to get used to life at Hollins and was wonderful about including me in the things she did. She had a big impact on me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Parks says her role consists of \u201ca lot of one-on-one academic help and tutoring. Many times the professor will direct a student who\u2019s struggling to me, but sometimes it\u2019s something I notice and I\u2019ll ask the student to come talk to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing an SSL has been my favorite thing I\u2019ve done at Hollins. I have a good relationship with the professors that I don\u2019t think I would have gotten otherwise, and I made a lot of friends among the first-years I probably wouldn\u2019t have otherwise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another SSL, Catherine Hensly \u201914<\/strong>, was also influenced by the student success leader who worked with her first-year seminar class. \u201cIt was the first experience I had had with a mentoring situation and it helped break down a lot of barriers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hensly compares herself to a \u201cmama bird\u201d in helping first-years through \u201cthe process of finding their place on campus, finding what they\u2019re good at,\u201d and believes that having been both a mentor and mentee will be valuable for her after graduation. \u201cI\u2019m applying for a management program and I\u2019ll be interacting with a mentor. Knowing how to navigate and be at ease with that relationship will be huge, and my comfort level has derived from working with and serving as an SSL.\u201d<\/p>\n

During the 2013-14 academic year, FYS has taken the SSL concept one step further, welcoming alumnae mentors for the first time. According to Coogan, the key messages from these Hollins graduates will be, \u201c\u2018Here\u2019s what I\u2019m doing now, here\u2019s how I got there. Here are the things I got out of college and how you can get them. Here are the careers you might want to think about that you\u2019ve never thought about.\u2019 They\u2019ll be able to connect to students on a more intentional level about thinking through why they are here and what they are doing. Most first-year students aren\u2019t ready to think about careers, but what we want them to do is start thinking about the things that should affect their choice of classes and majors.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"First-ear<\/p>\n

Employing a combination of face-to-face meetings, Skype video technology, and online and phone contacts to interact with students, the alumnae mentors \u201coffer a real-world voice that complements what the professors and SSLs are saying,\u201d explains Brynn Hoffmann \u201909<\/strong>, one of the inaugural group. \u201c[Professor of History Joe] Leedom told me, \u2018You\u2019re there to tell these people what you could have told your 18-year-old self\u2014what you wish you had done or had known.\u2019 I\u2019m less involved in the course material and more focused on inspiring them: \u2018College is hard, but you are powerful women and you can handle it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Meghan Morse Edwards \u201906<\/strong> says she wanted to get involved with FYS to \u201cpay it forward. I just wanted to be able to help some Hollins women like I\u2019ve been helped.\u201d She believes that through the program students can build relationships with Hollins alumnae from the beginning of their college career and maintain them past graduation. \u201cIn this day and age, it really is who you know that\u2019ll help you stand out among the hundreds of applicants for a job. The sooner our students realize what powerful, wonderful people they can be connected to, the better for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Echoing Edwards, Stephanie Lohmann \u201908<\/strong>, M.F.A. \u201912 is enthusiastic about \u201cthis notion of the Hollins network as this physical, tangible thing. When I was in school, we were always told our Hollins sisters are everywhere in the world and no matter where we went, we could tap into that as a resource. But I didn\u2019t see it. It was this abstract thing I didn\u2019t necessarily feel comfortable tapping into because I didn\u2019t know what it was.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lohmann anticipates the alumnae mentors creating \u201cmeaningful interactions with students so when they graduate, this network is something very real to them that they know they\u2019re a part of. They\u2019ve experienced it. It\u2019s friendly, it\u2019s open, it\u2019s exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hammer describes the first-year seminar program as \u201crock-solid\u201d and getting stronger as professors continue to gain a better understanding of the needs of today\u2019s incoming college students and the alumnae mentor component grows. \u201cAt Hollins, we always have faculty say about students over the course of four years, \u2018Wow, I can\u2019t believe how this student has changed from first-year to senior.\u2019 Now, the first-year seminar instructors see that happening in just that first semester. The gains may be smaller, but the professors are still able to say, \u2018She started off here, and at the end of the semester, I could see this kind of growth.\u2019 It\u2019s very powerful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff Hodges is director of public relations.<\/b><\/p>\n

\"divider\"<\/p>\n

Fall 2013 first-year seminars and their alumnae mentors<\/b><\/h3>\n

[twocol_one]<\/p>\n

EARLIEST CHRISTIANITY<\/span><\/strong>
\nJoe W. Leedom
\nMentor:<\/strong> Brynn Hoffman \u201909<\/p>\n

EDIBLE POETRY<\/strong><\/span>
\nThorpe Moeckel
\nMentor:<\/strong> Hayley Chambers \u201906<\/p>\n

FASHION FORWARD: DRESS AND ITS REPRESENTATION IN THE VISUAL ARTS<\/span><\/strong>
\nKathleen Nolan
\nMentor:<\/strong> Kara Scott \u201909<\/p>\n

FROM PINHOLE TO SMARTPHONE: ADVENTURES IN PHOTOGRAPHY<\/span><\/strong>
\nRobert Sulkin
\nMentor:<\/strong> Ashley Shell Pannell \u201912<\/p>\n

FROM SOLITARY REVERIES TO TREKS ACROSS THE DESERTS: THE LANDSCAPES OF FRANCOPHONE CULTURES<\/span><\/strong>
\nAnnette Sampon-Nicolas
\nMentor:<\/strong> Stephanie Lohmann \u201908, M.F.A. \u201912<\/p>\n

GIRLS IN PINK TIGHTS: AN EXPLORATION OF WOMEN ON BROADWAY<\/span><\/strong>
\nShelbie Wahl-Fouts
\nMentor:<\/strong> Kathryn McKellar \u201905<\/p>\n

HOW TO BE A PRESIDENT<\/span><\/strong>
\nEdward Lynch
\nMentor:<\/strong> Mallory Potock \u201909<\/p>\n

[\/twocol_one]<\/p>\n

[twocol_one_last]<\/p>\n

HOW TO WATCH TV<\/span><\/strong>
\nChristopher Richter
\nMentor:<\/strong> Kadyrose Quigley \u201908<\/p>\n

LEARNING FROM GAIA: NATURE, MYTH, ARCHAEOLOGY, AND THE ENVIRONMENT IN THE ANCIENT MEDITERRANEAN<\/span><\/strong>
\nChristina Salowey
\nMentor:<\/strong> Gwen Fernandez \u201906<\/p>\n

MYTHBUSTERS<\/span><\/strong>
\nJohn Forsman
\nMentor:<\/strong> Taylor Marun \u201909<\/p>\n

THINKING LIKE A MOUNTAIN: DISCOVERY, EXPLORATION, AND CONSERVATION OF OUR NATURAL WORLD<\/span><\/strong>
\nMorgan Wilson and Jon Guy Owens
\nMentor:<\/strong> Meghan Morse Edwards \u201906<\/p>\n

WAR AND PEACE: EXPLORING RELIGION AND ETHICS WITHIN GLOBAL CONFLICTS AND DEMOCRATIC MOVEMENTS<\/span><\/strong>
\nJon Bohland and Darla Schumm
\nMentor:<\/strong> Kristin Elysse Stolpe \u201910<\/p>\n

WOMEN AND TECHNOLOGY<\/span><\/strong>
\nEdwina Spodark
\nMentor:<\/strong> Kerry Kinnison \u201912<\/p>\n

WOMEN\/BODIES\/VOICES<\/span><\/strong>
\nJulie Pfeiffer
\nMentor:<\/strong> Courtney Chenette \u201909<\/p>\n

[\/twocol_one_last]<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the past seven years, faculty and upper-class students have spearheaded the first-year seminar program\u2019s unqualified success. Now, first-year students also benefit from the wisdom and guidance of alumnae mentors.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4793,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[52],"class_list":["post-4560","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","tag-winter-2014"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4560","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4560"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4560\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4794,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4560\/revisions\/4794"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4560"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4560"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hollins.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4560"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}