Our guest blogger for this post is Dr. Alixandra Yanus, Assistant Professor of Political Science.
For many first year students, college presents a unique opportunity to step out of your comfort zone and form social, personal, and professional networks that will benefit you in the future. Or, as Moore writes, “School isn’t just a place to learn; it’s a place to meet really smart people who can help you in ways you can’t even predict” (39).
From the moment you arrive on the HPU campus, you should begin to consider how you can become a more connected individual. Of course, there are new friends in your dorm, student life staff eager to share a range of on-campus activities, and enthusiastic administrators ready to welcome you to the HPU family. You can also rely on your freshman Success Coach to help you adapt to everything from adjusting to independent living to learning study strategies, finding tutoring resources, and building your academic profile on campus.
While HPU’s support staff and Success Coaches are truly first-rate, you should not overlook the importance of building early relationships with faculty in your major department, other departments that interest you, or co-curricular programs, such as HPU’s WAGE Project. Even if you don’t have a class in these areas during your first semester, drop by and introduce yourself to faculty members and express your passion and interests in your field. You’ll likely find that faculty are excited to get to know engaged, enthusiastic, first year students, and that this initiative on your part may translate to opportunities down the road.
In my own case, as a first year student at American University, I reached out to a faculty member in the Department of Political Science during Freshman Orientation. We chatted, and my parents, in particular, were taken by her no-nonsense approach. They encouraged me to follow up with her when I arrived on campus; I did, and she remains a valued mentor, colleague, and co-author to this day. Similarly, as a faculty member at HPU, I can attest that some of the deepest mentoring relationships I have formed with students were with individuals I got to know during Presidential Scholars weekend or in their first semester at HPU. These students earned the opportunity to work with me on undergraduate research, received strong letters of recommendation for jobs and internships, and have achieved success in both graduate study and the professional world.
Further, consider this: while many HPU students say they were attracted to the campus for its beautiful grounds and second-to-none facilities, they say that they stay—and gain the most from their college experiences—from the university’s nearly 300 vibrant and engaged faculty members. For example, 2015 graduate Josh Walston credits HPU business and communication faculty for helping him to develop his passion for sales and land a post-graduation position at VMWare in Austin, Texas. Similarly, 2015 graduate Alicia Miller, who majored in Education and Art, praises Dr. Claudia Femenias, Professor of Spanish, for being the “common denominator in the wonderful trail of events that connect my amazing experiences at HPU.”
And, it’s not just students at HPU who are benefitting from the role of faculty mentors in their education. The Gallup-Purdue Index, a survey of nearly 30,000 Americans with bachelor’s degrees, found that people who had deep mentoring experiences in college were more than two times more likely to be engaged in their job, and thereby satisfied with their lives, than those that did not. These students also noted the significance of opportunities that mentoring experiences can provide, such as internships, job experiences, and multi-semester research projects.
How and why do you think it important to create personal and professional networks, cultivate relationships with strong mentors, and rely on others for help? Is there a mentor in your life that has been instrumental in preparing you for college? Have you met any HPU faculty that you are excited to learn from?