I recently completed a M.Ed program with a focus on Humane Education. It wasn't a month later before I was asked to teach a few of the freshmen seminar courses at the college I work for.
During the first term, so much of the course was focused on helping students transition into a potentially new country, state, city, campus, shared dorm room, field of study etc. The curriculum included a lot of logistical support, for example how to change your meal plan, registering for courses and knowing who your Academic Advisor is. In addition to meeting one on one with each student to ensure they have made at least one meaningful connection with someone within the first few weeks, there was also a lot of focus on instilling some of the basic necessities of any successful student or person in general, i.e. time management, organization, motivation and the like.
My favorite assignment to the class was to have each student create a "Professional Folder," something I was not required to do until my senior year of college. Within the folder students were required to include a minimum of 15 items. Such items might include a resume, employment postings, research opportunities, articles relevant to their field etc. Some students even included a sample cover letter or even papers they have written.
This was such a worthwhile project when I was in college, however I wish had started building something like this sooner. Perhaps I would have been more intentional about the choices I made regarding my "next steps" early on, as opposed to just beginning the whole thought process as graduation put a bit of an urgent spin on things.
If you were to ask most of the students in this first class, I believe they might agree that the Professional Folder was a helpful assignment. In fact, one of the students received an opportunity to conduct undergraduate research during the the following academic term. Certainly her genuine personality and true work ethic is the main reason she landed this opportunity. I do wonder though, if this little nudge to sift through employment opportunities and to tighten up a resume in within her first ten weeks of college might have encouraged her to reach for such opportunities a bit sooner...
During the first term, so much of the course was focused on helping students transition into a potentially new country, state, city, campus, shared dorm room, field of study etc. The curriculum included a lot of logistical support, for example how to change your meal plan, registering for courses and knowing who your Academic Advisor is. In addition to meeting one on one with each student to ensure they have made at least one meaningful connection with someone within the first few weeks, there was also a lot of focus on instilling some of the basic necessities of any successful student or person in general, i.e. time management, organization, motivation and the like.
My favorite assignment to the class was to have each student create a "Professional Folder," something I was not required to do until my senior year of college. Within the folder students were required to include a minimum of 15 items. Such items might include a resume, employment postings, research opportunities, articles relevant to their field etc. Some students even included a sample cover letter or even papers they have written.
This was such a worthwhile project when I was in college, however I wish had started building something like this sooner. Perhaps I would have been more intentional about the choices I made regarding my "next steps" early on, as opposed to just beginning the whole thought process as graduation put a bit of an urgent spin on things.
If you were to ask most of the students in this first class, I believe they might agree that the Professional Folder was a helpful assignment. In fact, one of the students received an opportunity to conduct undergraduate research during the the following academic term. Certainly her genuine personality and true work ethic is the main reason she landed this opportunity. I do wonder though, if this little nudge to sift through employment opportunities and to tighten up a resume in within her first ten weeks of college might have encouraged her to reach for such opportunities a bit sooner...
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