New at Missouri State for Fall 2018 will be the launch of a Second-Year Experience Welcome Back event, specifically designed for all students who are returning for their second year. While the first-year experience is filled with reacculturating (Bruffee, 1999) to the collegiate culture, students returning for their second year have a lot to celebrate but also have a lot to consider for what they want to accomplish. The second year typically serves as a time that students seriously contemplate their academic and professional careers. For all students, including first-generation students, the pathway may seem uncertain, but this Welcome Back event provides an opportunity to answer questions and address concerns.
Our first Welcome Back event is planned for Thurs. Aug. 30 from 4:00-6:00pm in PSU Ballroom. First-year students can be overwhelmed with campus resource information coupled with an uncertainty of their college experience. This Welcome Back event allows for second-year students to celebrate the completion of their first year of college, prepare for a successful second year, develop stronger connections with faculty, and deepen their Public Affairs mission involvement. Perhaps second-year students are looking for on-campus employment, searching for a research opportunity with faculty members, wanting to learn more about service learning, contemplating studying away, wondering about internships, and/or questioning the possibility of attending graduate school, we will have faculty and staff available to provide feedback. Maybe some second-year students have not quite yet found their niche, we will have student leaders available to share their experiences along with helpful advice from faculty and staff.
By providing an interactive and informal environment, this Welcome Back event encourages second-year students to make their Missouri Statement.
Bruffee, K. A. (1999). Collaborative learning: Higher education, interdependence, and the authority of knowledge (2nd ed.). Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
(submitted by Dr. Tracey Glaessgen, Center for Academic Success and Transition)