'Second-Year Experience' Course Helps Sophomores Explore Academic, Life and Career Goals

University Relations

The Pi Beta Phi Gate at the northern entrance to the U of A campus.

The Student Success team in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences is excited to offer a new class for U of A sophomores. The course, titled "The Second-Year Experience," will begin in spring 2023 and is designed for sophomores who are exploring their academic, career and life goals.

"We created this course as a way for students to explore opportunities," said Deb Korth, director of Fulbright College Student Success. "Since many students are still deciding their path, life goals and major as sophomores, we wanted them to have a place where they could be introspective while still working on becoming a professional."

Lynn Meade, teaching assistant professor in Student Success and communication instructor, will lead the interactive and student-centered course.

"This course combines all the things that I love to teach — self-exploration, storytelling and professionalism," Meade said. "Students in this class will have a chance to reflect on their strengths and weaknesses and create an action plan. The focus is not, 'what do you want to do?' but rather 'who do you want to be?'"

"My biggest goal is to equip students to be successful, to meet their college and life goals and to feel like they have the personal knowledge and the self-confidence to pursue those goals," she added. 

Meade said that students can expect interaction and activity to be a cornerstone of the course.

"We will be talking about a concept and then putting that concept into action," she said. "For example, students will learn about networking and professional communication and then will practice those skills at a dinner with community and campus leaders."

Meade, who is the recipient of the Fulbright Master Teacher Award and the Imhoff Award for Teaching and Mentoring, encourages sophomore students to explore the course as they plan for the spring semester and reminds students that all majors from all colleges are welcome to enroll. For those interested, the course code is ARSC2003.

"We know that students want experiences in class," Meade said. "They want to do more than just talk about things; they want to do things. Not only that, but they are searching for the meaning behind what they are learning — and this course helps our sophomores ask the right questions that lead them to those answers."