Focus accrues on engagement during students' second years

Author: Lois Parshley

The College's administration is working on a new program to provide direction for sophomores called the "Sophomore Year Experience." President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz hopes the new program will keep sophomores from feeling forgotten, as first-years have the First-Year Seminar, juniors typically study abroad and seniors have independent projects and thesis work.

The program was sparked by national conversation about what should happen sophomore year in college, what Associate Dean of the College and Visiting Professor of Art History Katy Abbott, a leader in Middlebury's Sophomore Year Experience, calls "the lost year." She said Middlebury's program was also sparked by the move to the 4/2 commons system.

"Sophomores needed an additional rationale for staying in their commons," she said, "so we decided it was imperative we reach out with this new program at the same time as the 4/2 switch this fall."

The time limits on creating this program led the College to borrow the structure of a similar sophomore program in place at Colgate University. The basics of the College's Sophomore Year Experience include three major components.

The first one is the introduction of "Commons Conversations," informal meetings of faculty and students over dessert and coffee. The themes of these meetings are specifically determined by the Commons Heads, but the unifying goal is to give students a sense of what drives faculty members and what it actually means to be involved in specific fields.

The second is the utilization of existing Career Services Office (CSO) programs, as well as introducing new "Do What You Are" workshops, delivered by CSO's peer career advisors in each Commons starting this winter term.

"These optional workshops will support the goal of students using their sophomore years to learn more about their preferences, interests, skills and values," said Associate Director of CSO Susan Walker.

The existing CSO programs, including externship opportunities over fall and February breaks, also strive to give students a chance to connect their intellectual lives and extracurricular pursuits, as well as engage various support networks on and off campus.

Finally, there will be informal, commons-based conversations focused on educating sophomores on the experience of traveling abroad. These conversations will allow returning seniors to talk about their experiences abroad, including what sparked their interests and what challenges they encountered abroad and upon returning to Middlebury.

Abbott said this year's Sophomore Year Experience is a pilot program, so it is still very flexible and open to change and input from students. She has been frustrated with some students' feelings that this program is just another "top-down approach."

Abbott said that could not be farther from the truth, as the program was developed with extensive student input. Students with ideas for the program should speak with their Commons Heads, and feedback from students will continue to be taken very seriously.

This year's Sophomore Year Experience has been intentionally kept very small, as no one wants to tax students' time or add any other required elements to busy schedules.

Rather, the Sophomore Year Experience is meant to provide resources to help students who are interested develop their sense of who they are, what they are interested in and what to do to get to where they want to be.