SPRING 2009

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The Big Leap

by Robert Ross

Your high school days are numbered. Soon you’ll be in college. And not just any college. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University! You’ll be free and independent, surrounded by people who love aviation, aerospace, and technology as much as you do.

But wait, what’s that feeling in your stomach? A bit of stress, perhaps? How will you manage without your friends and family? How hard will the courses be? And who will do your laundry?

Every year, new students at Embry-Riddle face challenges like these when they make the leap from high school to college. Fortunately, the university has seen it all before and has programs to help freshmen adjust and succeed.

The Leader magazine asked a group of students and staff to talk about how Embry-Riddle helps first-year students at the Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., campuses.

What kinds of stresses do new college students face?

Sonja Taylor, dean of students, Daytona Beach campus:
For some, it's the adjustment to college work. Students who had a 4.0 G.P.A. in high school are suddenly in a competitive environment for the first time, with heavy math and science. This is coupled with the social dynamics. There's a desire to be involved socially with peers who are all new. Some kids do well academically, but have trouble interacting with their peers. Many students come from a home where they had their own room and privacy. Suddenly they're sharing a suite in a community environment. Others are very social and love it.
Jim Kula, dean of students, Prescott campus:
Eighteen-year-olds have unique needs going away from their home area to college for the first time. Most of our students live more than 500 miles away. And they don't come with their friends.
Rich Nicols, director of academic student support, First-Year Program, Daytona Beach:
About 20 percent of Embry-Riddle students are the first in their family to attend college. First-generation students often don't know about the college application, selection, and financial aid process.
Richard Bloom, dean, College of Arts and Sciences, Prescott:
When I went to college you just showed up and that was that. Today, we try to pay more attention to these issues.

How does Embry-Riddle help new students?

Nicols:
Before they even come to campus, we phone freshmen and ask them to take our online math evaluation. If they need a basic algebra or trig course, taking it in the first semester would put them behind. So we urge them to take online tutorials, a course at a community college, or complete the course on campus in the summer to place higher before the fall term. We want to make sure they show up ready for class. We're also trying to help reduce their debt.
Taylor:
We have a crisis prevention team that meets every week. It's made up of the dean of students, counselors, and staff from residence life, safety, health services, and first-year programs. Our purpose is to identify students who have hit the radar as needing attention. We do a proactive intervention, offering guidance and a helping hand. Nicols: Once they're on campus, every student meets their advisor within the first three weeks, and three to four weeks into the semester every professor gives their students an early warning assessment.
Kula:
Three groups of students help first-year students with their transition. Campus academic mentors help to lead our college success class, UNIV 101. A second group is RAs, residence assistants who oversee the first-year students in the residence halls. The third group is the new students' peers, who are just like them.
Nicols:
UNIV 101 is taught by faculty members and upper-class student mentors and gives students an overview of the university and its resources. It also covers time and money management, study and library skills, social skills, diversity awareness, and alcohol, drug, and suicide awareness. Our research shows that students who take it Ð and 80 percent do Ð are more likely to finish college and succeed.
Alex Mark, from Newton, Penn., senior, aerospace engineering:
I'm a peer mentor in UNIV 101 classes. I'm there with a teacher working with the freshmen, one on one or in a group, doing projects with them, trying to get them acclimated, going around campus, setting up tutoring if they need it, because a lot of freshmen engineering classes aren't easy. A lot of kids come to college with straight A's from high school, but it's not the same here. It's much harder.

And outside the classroom?

Taylor:
One of the best things is that 95 percent of our freshmen live on campus. Our research shows that freshmen who live on campus have higher graduation rates and G.P.A.s than those who live off campus. The transition is less stressful because they're in a supportive community. The RAs are there as information resources. They're trained to help students with transition issues.
Kobi Brew-Hammond, from Kumasi, Ghana, senior, business, Daytona Beach:
I'm a residence advisor. I help the residents get acclimated to college life and used to living away from home without their parents, learning how to do their laundry and other things they need to do. Learning to be an RA involves lots of group work, learning how to work with others and come up with programs for the residents, learning to mentor and counsel.
Kula:
In Prescott, we house our first-year students by degree affinity, which is a good grouping based on academic interests and similarities.
Bloom:
The social development that takes place in the dorm is as important as what happens in the classroom.
Kula:
This year, we have 93 student clubs, an all-time high number. There's a club for everything from tea-drinking to rugby.
Taylor:
At the Daytona Beach campus, we have 140 to 150 student clubs, and don't forget athletics and intramurals on both campuses. There are plenty of opportunities for spirit and community.

What about those first-generation students?

Anthony Alvarado, from Eaton, N.J., senior, aerospace engineering:
On the first day of freshmen orientation, I had no idea what to expect. My mother was with me but she was as much a student as I was. But with the First-Generation Program I could walk in and ask as many questions as I wanted, and they were all answered. I went there probably once a day. Within a couple of weeks my transition to college was complete.
Nicols:
We provide support to first generation students as soon as possible. If they attend presentations about financial aid and tutoring, we give them points that count toward the chance of getting scholarships each year. A club has even grown out of the university's program.
Kim Smith, from Capac, Mich., sophomore, aerospace engineering:
Getting involved in the First Generation Club helped me. I got to meet a bunch of different people and network around campus. I know people now that other sophomores don't know. I was in ENG 115, a class all freshmen engineers take, and it was very difficult. I high school, I may have had to work harder but I didn't need a tutor. My First Gen advisor convinced me to go to the professor for tutoring, and it helped.
Rebecca Lima, from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., sophomore, mechanical engineering:
When I was a peer mentor in UNIV 101, one kid was very shy, didn't have a lot of friends, and didn't talk in class. The professor and I thought something was wrong. He seemed socially challenged. He actually came to us and asked if we could help him. He wanted to make friends and experience what college is like. We sat down with him and gave him tips, not just academically but socially, too. I've seen a big difference in him.
Brew-Hammond:
There're always kids who get overwhelmed with school. It's our job as RAs to find out what they need and who they should talk to. Some kids get homesick and won't go out to look for help, so we go knock on their door to get them talking and find out what their problems are.

Any final words about making the big leap to college?

Taylor:
My number-one advice is: get out of your room and get involved with campus life, clubs, spectator and recreational sports, the fitness center, concerts, and movies. These things all add up to the life of the campus.
Christian Lewis, Franklin Township, N.J., 5th year, aerospace engineering:
I'd tell parents to give your child a chance to succeed on their own. Check up on your child now and then, but allow them the space to grow. You have to trust that they're going to do what they need to do.
Alvarado:
They told me that everyone's here to help you at Embry-Riddle, but I didn't believe it until I got here. As long as you have the determination, people are going to help you along the way.