When Hermis Reyes 鈥21 was wondering what classes to take next semester, he sat down for a chat with his adviser, , who also happens to be the Harold Tanner Dean of the 麻豆视频 & 麻豆视频.
That Ritter would have time for a lengthy chat with a freshman doesn鈥檛 seem unusual for Reyes because he and nine other freshmen get to see her every week as part of a new pilot program in the 麻豆视频 & 麻豆视频 that pairs new students with senior faculty and staff for small group meetings.
鈥淚 know more about these 10 people than I know about my regular advisees because we鈥檝e been able to spend so much time together,鈥 said, professor of mathematics, Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow and department chair. The group鈥檚 weekly meetings focus on topics such as time management, the value of the liberal arts curriculum opportunities and navigating Cornell and all of its resources.
鈥淭he feedback we鈥檝e received from the seminar students so far has been overwhelmingly positive,鈥 said , director of advising for the college and another small group leader. 鈥淭hey understand the value of studying in Arts & 麻豆视频, are more aware of the support services available to them, and know that their advisor is invested in their academic success. In turn, the advisors find this advising format incredibly rewarding. It鈥檚 a win-win for all of us.鈥
On a recent Monday, students in Ramakrishna鈥檚 and Ritter鈥檚 sections visited the college鈥檚 Career Development Center for an introduction to the center鈥檚 offerings and an exercise called a 鈥渨andering map,鈥 which asked students to think about people, places, jobs, honors, courses and other life events and ideas that have been important to them or that interest them, in the past, present and future.
鈥淭his is a great way to brainstorm ways of viewing your past experiences, hoping to identify some themes and threads in your journey so far,鈥 said , senior career associate. 鈥淲e want you to break away from linear thinking and just envision your future and get excited about all of the possibilities.鈥
Students chose markers to work on 11 by 17 inch pieces of paper, some using creative lettering and drawings to represent their interests and others organizing their thoughts into bullet point lists.
鈥淭hese are the things that I absolutely loved in high school,鈥 Pallavi Kenkare 鈥21 said as she showed her map, which indicated a variety of interests in everything from painting and drawing to science, law and literature.
Yanni Ramirez 鈥21 organized his map in terms of hobbies, events that have impacted him and classes and topic that he鈥檚 excited to study. He said his interests are also broad, so having a close connection to Ramakrishna has been a benefit.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really helped me when I can talk to Ravi about my future and what I might want to study, because I鈥檓 not sure yet,鈥 said Ramirez, who came to Cornell from Los Angeles.
Reyes is also undecided about what to major in. He had great high school experiences in Manhattan related to law, but he鈥檚 also always been good at science and feels strongly about environmental issues.
鈥淚 was talking to Dean Ritter about my potential schedule because I want to dip into bio next semester, but I also enjoyed my government classes,鈥 he said. 鈥淪he suggested a bio course related to the environment because she saw my interests there. Being with the dean, she has access to a lot of information and knows a lot about the courses.鈥
鈥淓ducating these talented young people is one of the great contributions we make to the world,鈥 Ritter said. 鈥淭his program is an effort to get our freshmen off to a good start here.鈥
During the next class session, Ramakrishna encouraged students to broaden their horizons when they pre-enroll for the spring semester, making time for engaged learning experiences and classes outside their main area of interest. He also encouraged them to start thinking about study abroad and research.
鈥淲e鈥檙e really delighted by the positive feedback from both the students and the faculty involved in the seminar,鈥 said , senior associate dean for undergraduate education, professor in the Department of Astronomy and another small group leader. 鈥淣ext semester we鈥檒l be working with faculty and students on how we can extend on this first pilot, to involve more of our future freshman, and help them create early, stronger connections with faculty and resources across our campus.鈥
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