Laying Out the Welcome Mat
The Office of First-Year Experience helps new students feel at home
THE FIRST YEAR AT A NEW SCHOOL IS both exciting and challenging. It is full of new ideas, new experiences, new places, and new people. With the aim of creatinga solid foundation for success, Loyola recently created the Office of First-Year Experience (FYE). The office will help freshmen and transfer students adjust to life at Loyola, support them in challenges that spring up along the way, and help them understand the values and ideals behind Loyola's Jesuit tradition. Although many of these services are already provided by different groups and departments within the University, one of FYE's primary goals is to partner with these groups and help them work together more efficiently. 
In light of the University's recent overall expansion and an initiative by Loyola President Michael J. Garanzini, S.J., to improve retention rates, Justin Daffron, S.J., was charged with the rejuvenation and reorganization of the Office of First-Year Experience. "This was, quite simply, born out of a desire to improve the undergraduate experience," says Father Daffron. The first year at a new school, whether a student is coming from high school or another university, is crucial to a student's success. The FYE peer mentoring program offers first-years a way to talk through obstacles and ask questions of someone who's been there. Last semester, FYE peer mentors called freshmen students to talk about their experiences. "We'd check in on them, ask about their classes, roommates, clubs, and extracurriculars," says sophomore Molly Dull, a peer mentor. "We'd answer any questions they had, and if we couldn't answer them, we'd connect them with the right resources to do so. We want them to know they have a support system."
As an administrative office, FYE is committed to embodying a Jesuit sense of cura personalis, or care of the individual person. "It's cool that new students have access to this program," says Dull. "I know someone who wanted to transfer last year. She stayed, but she says she wishes she would have had someone like this to talk to." Although the office is still new, it's already making a difference to students. The office coordinator, Bridget Wesley, joined Loyola at the end of last semester. With a background in social work, she hopes to bring a new depth and vitality to student support programs. FYE also gained a new physical space on the second floor of Sullivan at the Lake Shore Campus. "We want the office to be a welcoming place where students can come with questions, or even if they're just having a rough week," says Dull. 
As part of FYE, the three-year-old Loyola Seminar program was modified this past summer to better relate to the value areas of the Core curriculum, namely: diversity, spirituality, faith in action, civic engagement, promoting justice, and leadership. "The courses allow faculty to take any topic that relates to one of the Core value areas and use their expertise to create a unique learning opportunity." says Father Daffron, who led the revision initiative and who also teaches a Loyola Seminar. During fall semester, Julia Lieblich, a professor in the communications department, taught a seminar, Memoirs in Social Justice, in which her students read the stories of survivors of the Holocaust and wars in Guatemala and Bosnia. The seminars are also meant to create a community. "We also talked about adjusting to life at Loyola and getting to know Chicago," says Lieblich. "We have this small, discussion-based, critical-thinking class," says freshman Ashley Slovinski. "It's still challenging, but not as stressful. You don't feel that pressure you can get from other classes." Says freshman Amanda Carew, "It's more than just a class, because I feel like I got to know my professor on a personal level, and the other people in the class as well. I see them around campus, and these are people I've gotten to know through discussions and through sharing opinions." 
The current FYE agenda includes these refocused seminar courses, personal check-ins, mentoring programs with first-generation students and alumni, convocation, the common reading program, and the first-ever freshman weekend. "We're acknowledging that the transition can be difficult, and we're trying to create a welcoming environment throughout the University," says Wesley. Adds Father Daffron, "Every student is an important part of our community. The entire University has a responsibility to help students find their place in the first year so they can graduate in four."
With Wesley, Father Daffron, and a dedicated team of students forming the core of an office promising to grow as time goes on, the Office of First-Year Experience is an important step toward improving the undergraduate experience and educating the whole person from day one. "We are hoping that our office will be a place of support and encouragement for students in their first year, but also continuing through graduation," says Wesley. "We are committed to placing them on the right track toward success at Loyola and beyond."
Anastasia Busiek