For the first time ever this fall, incoming students began their Westmont experience sitting at home and taking classes remotely. After a virtual orientation, they connected with their professors and classmates through Zoom and Canvas—a most unusual beginning for a residential college known for its warm and welcoming community.
Recognizing the challenge of building relationships through a computer screen, the college structured First-Year Seminars to help new students get to know their professors and peers. The theme, Living Our Stories at Westmont, reflected the goals of building confidence, helping students develop their own voice, and honing their thinking and writing skills. Exploring ideas through a small community allowed students to learn from each other rather than relying on a professor to do all the teaching.
“We hope students found this intellectual community enjoyable and invigorating—and that it helped prepare them for the rest of their college education,” says Irene Neller, vice president for enrollment, marketing and communication, who taught one of the seminars.
“We asked, ‘What is your current story and how might Westmont add to your story?’” she says. “Together, we discussed stories written by people of other places, cultures and times and considered how to compose lives rooted in justice and mercy. How do we conform our story to the story God has in store for us?”
All new students participated in the first four weeks of the seminar remotely. They then had the option of taking an additional three weeks after moving to campus in late September. Some groups, such as Neller’s students, met in person. By engaging with each other and submitting three essays, these students earned a unit of academic credit. A total of 34 faculty and staff members taught the seminars, including professors from departments such as biology, art, history, mathematics, psychology, and religious studies.
“Students got their first experience with interdisciplinary thinking in these seminars,” Neller says. “They began to articulate their objectives for their college education and started connecting with fellow students to discover what it means to learn in a diverse community. It was a highly personal experience for them and for me.”
Read what Vice President Neller's students thought about their first-year seminar.