Early Start Experience familiarizes students with university campus

By Ry Clarke - Lethbridge Herald Local Journalism Initiative Reporter on September 2, 2022.

Herald photo by Ry Clarke Shelly Wismath and instructor Brendan Cummins, along with a panel of TA's, give first year students helpful tips and insights into their studies Thursday at the U of L.

The University of Lethbridge concluded its Early Start Experience program Thursday, giving first-year students a chance to explore the campus, learning the ins and outs before the first week of school starts.

Students partaking in the program also earned three credits towards their degree, setting them up with success right out of the gate. This year 58 students took part in the two-week program, spending time with TA’s and professors as they explored the campus and became acquainted with what their first semester will be like.

This year the program was also open to second-year students who didn’t have an opportunity to be on campus last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, taking classes online.

The program is offered through the School of Liberal Education at the University, giving students a path to success as they transition into post-secondary studies.

“The course is built around the metaphor of mapping. We start on the first day with literally mapping out the campus, where are all the buildings, where my class is going to be. Doing tours of the campus, labs and various spaces. We also bring in a number of profs from around the campus to talk,” said Shelly Wismath, dean of the School of Liberal Education.

She noted the style gives students an experience of what university lectures will look like.

“We do writing workshops, several study skills workshops and how to take notes and study for tests.”

The course offers a variety of components like academics, behaviour, and activities, giving students a chance to be more prepared going into their first year.

“We don’t expect them to sit in their seats in the classroom from nine to four every day. We send them out on all kinds of activities and tours. We did a visit to the Iikaisskini Indigenous Gathering Centre on campus and spoke with an elder for an hour. Yesterday afternoon, we did an Amazing Race, we sent eight teams out around campus in the heat, going to all the different offices in places that they’re going to need to know about. They have a team project to work on, too. There’s lots of active learning,” said Wismath.

Several new students had a lot of positive things to say about the experience.

“On you first day, you don’t have to worry about coming in here,” said Noehil Ferolino, a student participant. “It helped me know where to go every time. Also, it helped me balance my schedule, helping me know which classes to get into.”

“It’s a pretty big campus, you are getting the lay of the land now that you’ve taken this course,” said Alexia Medina, student participant. “At first look, it seems quite big and overwhelming. But throughout the class, we’ve done tours and exercises where we have to go to different areas in the university. So you start to understand how to get around and it doesn’t seem as big anymore.”

“I’m excited to go into the labs in the science building. We did that tour and it was really cool to see how modern it was in comparison to the rest of the university. It’s definitely one of the newest ones. As well as the professor is really interesting,” said Josh McNeil, another student participant. “(The program) gives me a lot of insight to know how to write. The whole essay structure in high school is very different. Here you can write how you want to write.”

The U of L will be starting its fall semester on Sept. 7 with students moving back into residence this weekend.

Many new faces will be more prepared thanks to this program, already ahead of the curve with new experiences and friends to start off with.

“I’ve met so many nice people here. Especially the teachers, they are really welcoming. The professors they got to talk to us were really nice and told us what to do and what to bring on our first day. I’m feeling pretty prepared, and excited,” said Ferolino.

Comments are closed.