FIRST YEAR focus
ON STUDENT SUCCESS
From the moment new students step foot on campus for orientation in June, orientation leaders greet them with an infectious enthusiasm and willingness to answer any questions. When they return in August to begin their first semester at Ship, Fall Welcome Week activities help first-year students take their initial steps in their college careers. BY MOLLY FOSTER ’19
S
ome students thrive when they are let loose to discover their interests and career aspirations through their classes and participation in clubs and organizations. Others may feel unprepared and struggle to find the resources they need to succeed. The First-Year Experience (FYE), which will be introduced into the curriculum for all incoming students in fall 2018, will employ new teaching techniques and make university-wide strides toward
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SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY MAGAZINE
experience
FIRST-YEAR
SHIPPENSBURG UNIVERSITY FYE
student success—even more than it does already. “It’s kind of like students in high school are being asked to come to campus and they’ve never driven. And now we’re giving
them all sports cars and saying, okay, drive! But they don’t know how to drive, where to drive, or what driving looks like,” said Richard Zumkhawala-Cook, an English professor who will teach two First-Year Seminar courses next semester. “And at the same time (there are) all sorts of opportunities, so we give them big roads, too. But I think the First-Year Experience class will help guide them. Some students get here and they say ‘I don’t want to drive,’ but that’s what you’re supposed to
