Dear Parents,
Our commitment to student success expanded this year with our new Common Experience program, a yearlong array of interactive activities that are erasing boundaries among classrooms, residence halls, and campus areas. The Common Experience widens how and where students learn by bringing intellectual inquiry and problem solving into non-traditional spaces, such as off-campus service sites, cultural events, and even soccer games. At its core, the Common Experience is a celebration of academic work, demonstrating many of the ways students’ knowledge and skills can be applied to real-world issues.
In September, the class of 2019 had the opportunity to meet Wes Moore, the author of their summer common read The Work: My Search for a Life that Matters. His message to students mirrored so much that is central to our Common Experience and to our university mission:
Be prepared, be diligent and block out the noise. You’re surrounded by people with ideas who will tell you what to do, and if you’re not thinking seriously about what breaks your heart and what you’ll give your everything for, you’ll never find the answer to the question, ‘Why am I here?’ . . . Every second you don’t do that, you become extraordinarily ordinary.
Lives of success and significance don’t just happen overnight. They take work – hard work and joyful persistence. We believe that students can achieve remarkable things when they understand the importance of facing difficulties head on, taking intellectual risks, and seeking out help and resources. At High Point University, faculty and staff work everyday to engage students with meaningful academic challenges and to instill in them the study strategies and habits of mind that promote deep learning and personal growth.
This November, we’re thankful for your support and for the opportunity to work with our students in such exciting ways.
All the best,
Dr. William Carpenter
Director of First-Year Programs