YOUare USD. First-Year Living and Learning

Transcription

1 YOUare USD First-Year Livig ad Learig

2 Be the Chage I 2011, Uiversity of Sa Diego was amed a Ashoka Chagemaker Campus, ad desigated a hub of social iovatio amog a select group of the atio s colleges ad uiversities. Oe of the key qualities of a chagemaker campus is the developmet of socially mided programs across disciplies that explore ad address your commuity s ad the world s itractable problems. Chagemakig at USD meas cultivatig awareess, empathy ad the ability to idetify social problems, ad the systemic variables that create ad/or perpetuate them, i order to develop ad implemet creative ad viable solutios. As a member of the USD commuity, you have edless opportuities to explore social chage through purposeful, cross-discipliary iitiatives i teachig, research ad commuity actio. Explorig social chage ca begi right here, i your first year. Tap ito the regio s ecology ad be part of a sustaiability dier. Lear about local struggles for justice as you get to kow Sa Diego. Liste to the world aroud you. Fortify yourself with kowledge ad fid your passio i positive chage. From your first day, you will see that at USD, livig ad learig are oe ad the same. Where the classroom ad the residece hall serve as a commuity, soudig board ad itellectual testig groud. Where your studies ad collegiate coversatios are itertwied, breakig dow borders betwee disciplies ad kickig up fresh ideas. All made eve better with a little late-ight pizza ad ew lifelog frieds. Welcome to the Uiversity of Sa Diego! We ve bee waitig for YOU 3 Livig-Learig Commuities 9 traditioal Residetial Commuities 13 Commuter Studets 15 First-Year Foudatio uiversity of sa diego / 1

3 Livig-Learig Commuities Your first year is like o other. You are likely to lear more about yourself ad your capabilities tha at ay other time i your life. You will make coectios that last decades. Every momet will be charged with possibility. What better way to urture yourself tha through a livig-learig commuity? I livig-learig commuities (LLC) studets who share a commo iterest live ad study together. Not oly do LLCs ease your academic ad social trasitio to USD, they expad your itellectual curiosity beyod the classroom, ad establish a immediate sese of commuity with your faculty ad fellow residets. I a LLC, studets take classes together ad live ear oe aother, sharig a supercharged college experiece where academics meld with excitig extracurricular activities ad commuity egagemet, ufurlig ew uderstadigs i the process. Built aroud themes such as social justice or sustaiability, each LLC provides a ripe eviromet for you ad your peers to poder differig perspectives ad galvaize ito actio. Live ad Lear Natioal studies have show that studets i livig-learig commuities demostrate stroger academic achievemet, ad are more ivested i ad coected to the campus commuity. By takig part i activities, usig campus resources ad iteractig with faculty, studets who choose livig-learig commuities overall experiece a more seamless trasitio to college. As a livig-learig participat at USD, you are a active member of the commuity from the day you arrive o campus. You are surrouded by studets with similar iterests ad metors who wat to help you succeed. Your small-classroom experieces ad LLC-themed evets are iterrelated, ad sice your hall mates are also your classmates, your field of shared experieces is vast. Friedships develop ad deepe. Study groups are a atural. You are ispired by others, ad i tur, you ispire. Before you kow it, you are ot just attedig USD, you are USD. The USD Advatage While learig commuities are icreasigly popular amog colleges ad uiversities across the atio, LLCs at USD stad out as part of a comprehesive first-year experiece. Each LLC theme is liked to related preceptorials, first-year core curriculum courses that are limited to 18 first-year studets ad taught by a full-time faculty member who also serves as your academic advisor util you choose your major. As your primary metor, your preceptor opes the door to a higher level of itellectual iquiry, ad guides you through such practicalities as registratio ad careful course plaig. Our award-wiig faculty preceptors are egagig, sought after as studet advisors, ad dedicated to their studets ad to their LLC. uiversity of sa diego / 3

4 Every livig-learig commuity at USD comprises up to seve preceptorial classes that are liked to the theme so you beefit from both small-group ad larger-group iteractios. I additio to the preceptor, a umber of people work together to create a positive experiece for you. The faculty director provides overall directio for the LLC theme ad related courses. Each class has a successful cotiuig studet who assists the preceptor, metors the studets, ad is a resource for campus programs ad activities. Commuity directors, residet assistats ad residet miisters roud out the support staff i your residece hall, overseeig all aspects of residetial life, coectig activities to your LLC theme ad coectig you to academic, social ad spiritual resources. Outside of class, each LLC plas a series of theme-related activities that add aother dimesio to your studies, itegratig your classroom experiece with the lessos of life ufoldig aroud you. They provide veues to explore social chage through your classes, co-curricular evets or discussios with your peers i your residece hall. I 2011, for example, social justice LLC studets combied a rock climbig trip with a examiatio of evirometal justice, brigig ideology ad reality ito sharp focus LLC evets icluded: Social Justice Commuity Atteded a social justice play, Las Mariposas, with a receptio at the La Jolla Playhouse took a caoe ad cocert trip with a emphasis o evirometal justice shared a meal with Father Joh O Brie, a Irish priest ad social justice worker i Pakista Hoors Commuity Picked apples ad visited the Califoria Wolf Ceter, a coservatio ad research istitute i Julia, Calif. swam with the sharks at La Jolla Shores atteded William Shakespeare s The Tempest at the Old Globe ad Richard Strauss Salome at the Sa Diego Opera Sustaiability Commuity visited Missio Gorge (oe of the largest urba parks i the Uited States) to talk with a faculty member ad a park rager about Kumeyaay water use ad the early Spaish dam took part i a multi-faceted food evet where differet groups died at The Likery i North Park; visited a Hare Krisha temple, the Ocea Beach People s Co-op ad the U.S.-Mexica border; screeed the film Food Ic.; ad ejoyed dier at USD s Studet Life Pavilio rooftop garde featurig USD-grow produce traveled to the Los Ageles Couty Museum of Art ad the J. Paul Getty Museum to see Pacific Stadard Time exhibits o the birth of the LA art scee ad to reflect o craft ad the craft ecoomy Food for Thought Whether it is a formal Christmas dier or a casual sprig barbecue, a locally sourced meal or a exotic foreig feast, you will relish beig part of a close academic commuity where you ca ourish both body ad mid. Diig Sessios are a 500- year traditio i Great Britai where studets ad faculty gathered to die, sharpe their rhetorical skills ad ejoy each other s compay. Imagie the diig sessios i Hogwarts ad you get the picture. Our ow USD Diig Sessios are a real ad much ewer traditio, but they have quickly become a importat part of LLC life. Sig me Up! You ca register for a LLC o the MySaDiego portal by choosig oe of the LLC preceptorials i the freshma advisig questioaire. If you are iterested i the hoors LLC, you must first be ivited to apply ad subsequetly be accepted ito the USD Hoors Program. 4 uiversity of sa diego / 5

5 Livig-Learig Commuity Themes Oly about half of first-year studets will participate i livig-learig commuities i the academic year. We aticipate all eterig firstyear studets will be i LLCs by Aligig with USD s core values, there are five livig-learig commuity themes for Where do you see yourself? The Sustaiability Commuity Do you thik USD ca become a carbo eutral campus? Ca evirometal awareess be expressed i art or poetry? What is ecological stewardship? How ca the scieces, social scieces ad humaities collaborate to create a evirometally sustaiable world? Explore these questios with your peers i the cotext of positive evirometal chage ad practice gree livig. Whether you are iterested i sustaiable fisheries, cultures of evirometalism or graphic depictios of evirometal livig, this LLC ivites all who are iterested i sustaiig our eviromet. The Social Justice Commuity What is activism? Is it huma ature to value social justice? Are we aturally iclied to thik about justice? How ca you lik your academic experiece to justice issues? Aalyze these questios with your peers i both cotemporary ad historical issues of peace ad justice i local, atioal ad global cotexts. Together, you will live, lear ad ivestigate social activism, social chage ad the philosophical foudatios of justice. Through service, immersio ad relatioship-buildig opportuities, you will be ecouraged to make more just ad sustaiable lifestyle choices that promote the commo good. The Natural World Commuity Are you iterested i all dimesios of scietific thikig? Have you ever wodered about the resposibilities scietists have to the local, atioal ad global commuity? Is sciece ad discovery displayed i the visios of artists ad actors? Ca a biologist, philosopher, athropologist ad ecoomist cotribute equally to the advacemet of sciece? If you are iterested i all aspects of huma discovery, this LLC will explore commo questios about scietific discovery, ethical ad resposible sciece, ad the cosequeces of scietific kowledge. Throughout your first year you will explore fudametal questios about the scieces through multiple leses. The Space, Place ad Soud Commuity Have you ever wodered about the variety of spaces humas costruct? Have you podered your place i the uiverse? How have ideas about space ad place chaged over time? How ca art, performace or music trasform a cotemporary space ito a sacred space or a magificet space? How do media shape our relatioship to space ad time? What turs a space ito a place of belogig, a home? Explore these questios through the cotext of history, art, architecture, music, the cosmos ad especially the imagiatio. The Hoors Commuity This LLC is a commuity of firstyear hoors studets dedicated to academic excellece. It will serve as your coectio to a challegig ad rewardig liberal arts educatio as you joi the vibrat compay of scholars to explore the uiverse of huma kowledge. You will lear to make your ow coectios amog a vast rage of classes, disciplies ad ideas, ad tur old kowledge ito ew isights. The hoors LLC is o ordiary first-year program; it marks the begiig of a lifelog quest for kowledge, elightemet, self-improvemet ad social progress. For more iformatio about liviglearig commuities ad how to sig up, go to: We ve see a particular closeess that studets feel i the LLCs through the sharig of residetial areas, classrooms ad thematic questios. The physical ad cogitive spaces created are very itimate, creatig a kid of deep kowledge of each other that I have t see elsewhere. Esteba del Río, Ph D Faculty Director, Sustaiability LLC Associate Professor, Commuicatio Studies Livig i a hoors LLC is the greatest first-year livig experiece I ca imagie. The girls i my hall are ad forever will be some of my greatest frieds. Makig ew coectios is a breeze sice everyoe is so close right from the begiig. Professors make themselves available to you. Jessica Kempa First-year studet, Hoors LLC Beig i a LLC eabled me to have a persoal coectio with my professor, a chace I would t have had if I had goe to a bigger uiversity. Gabrielle perez First-year studet, Sustaiability LLC Livig i the LLC has bee a great experiece. Havig studets i my class close by made studyig ad doig homework more coveiet. I foud myself beig more successful withi my classes because of this learig eviromet. Mega Richardso First-year studet, Social Justice LLC 6 uiversity of sa diego / 7

6 Traditioal Residetial Commuities First-year studets are required to live o campus, but really, you would t wat it ay other way. You are o your ow for the first time, perhaps ew to Sa Diego as well. It makes sese to slow dow ad savor life at USD. Watch the su set from the Garde of the Sea at the Istitute for Peace & Justice. Taste the grees fresh from the Studet Life Pavilio s rooftop garde. Help brig the aual sowfall to campus durig Witer Woderlad. Never heard of it? You soo will. Livig amog your peers just a few steps from your classes is a atural start to college life. Ad at USD, residetial life is ot just a buk ad a meal ticket. You are welcomed ito a iclusive livig commuity where you will fid the support of other studets ad a staff of advisors, coutless atural coectios to campus life, ad activities ad evets to help you kick back ad make ew frieds. Come Together As a residet studet, you ll have immediate access to residet assistats, commuity directors ad residet miisters, all of whom are dedicated to providig a positive livig eviromet ad ehacig your academic, social ad spiritual growth. Residet Assistats (RAs) Residet assistats are specially traied studet leaders who get to kow you idividually ad facilitate a seamless trasitio to college life ad commuity livig. Not oly do they ecourage you to participate i residetial life, they also hadle everythig from roommate agreemets to upholdig commuity stadards so your residece hall is a productive place to live ad study. Through commuity-buildig evets such as movie ights, ice cream socials ad game ights, RAs help residets feel more coected to each other ad to the uiversity. Commuity Directors (CDs) Commuity directors are professioal staff who live i each residetial area, provide oversight of all aspects of commuity livig, ad egage with the commuity throughout the etire academic year. Commuity directors supervise the residet assistats, advise o residetial life programmig ad maage commuity stadards for their give area. CDs are available as a resource for aythig related to studet life i geeral, ad provide idividual metorig o a variety of adjustmet ad other commo first-year studet issues. Residet Miisters (RMs) Each residetial livig area also has a residet miister who brigs the services of Uiversity Miistry directly to you, offerig everythig from spiritual exploratio ad Bible study sessios to stress relief ad idividual guidace. Residet miisters are uiquely able to coect you to resources i all areas of campus ad commuity life. RMs foster commuity through programs such as the weekly Wedesday gatherig after the Mass for Peace, where you ca discuss relevat issues i your life. uiversity of sa diego / 9

7 Commuity Livig Sharig a bedroom, bathroom ad study space with your peers is a elighteig experiece. From learig what you have i commo with someoe from a differet part of the coutry or world to cosiderig how your music volume affects your eighbor, discover yourself by livig with your peers. Sice part of the college experiece is explorig who you are, livig i a commuity is the perfect settig to urture that process. Not oly will you iteract with your peers i your residetial commuity, you will also have opportuities to meet faculty who live i the residece halls. Faculty members socialize with residets ad discuss classes, careers ad life i geeral through formal ad iformal coectios. Fro-Yo with Faculty o Wedesdays i Missios Café is a great way for ay studet to egage with faculty outside the classroom. Get o (the RHA) Board Livig o campus, it s easy to fid your ow iche i the USD commuity, startig with your residece hall. Gettig ivolved i the Residece Hall Associatio (RHA) is a way for you to meet other studets, become a studet leader ad put together evets that eergize your commuity. RHA serves as the active voice o campus for residets, assessig ad reportig o your eeds ad cocers. It s a great way to get ivolved with social chage. RHA also orgaizes social ad awareess evets for residets. Officers ad represetatives for each livig area pla activities for their residets. Evets iclude Waffle Wedesdays, Maher Olympics, Sudae Sudays ad trips to Padres games. Larger evets, such as Diversi-tea ad Relay for Life, are iclusive of all USD residets. With Opportuity ad Promise Your first year is full of promise. Livig i USD s traditioal residetial commuities, you have everythig you eed to become fully immersed i campus life. To become a leader. To get to kow your peers. To get to kow yourself as a thrivig, idepedet scholar. You are surrouded by opportuity. We would t wat ay less for you. For more iformatio o the may types of residece halls at USD, go to the residetial life website: I had the best experiece of my life this year ad met a lot of ew frieds. I made really great coectios with my fellow floor mates, ad my RA was always there whe I eeded her support. Meredith Kroja Two-year residet, Sa Atoio de Padua Apartmets I really like the priciples that the school is based o [such as ] ethical coduct ad compassioate service. I really try to show that to my residets by leadig by example ad fosterig that i our commuity. Cadace Torrey Residet Assistat, Machester Village Beig a residet faculty member is a uique experiece i ad of itself. By spedig time i the residece halls, I have bee remided of the importace of the trasitio to college every fall semester. Persoalities are shaped, attitudes are birthed, ew studets are trasformed ito thikig adults; the first semester of college is a icredibly formative experiece! Joatha Bowma, PhD Faculty Director, Social Justice LLC Associate Professor, Commuicatio Studies 10 uiversity of sa diego / 11

8 Commuter Studets There was a time whe commuter studets slipped o ad off campus quietly, creatig hardly a ripple i the uiversity pod. Those days are log goe. As a commuter studet today, becomig active i studet life at USD is a simple matter. Through the Commuter Studet Program, we have a umber of resources that are targeted specifically to your academic ad persoal developmet here o campus. After all, whe we ivited you to USD, we welcomed you ito our commuity, ot just our classrooms. From Commuter Studet to Commuter Residet Just because you are a commuter studet does t mea residetial life is off-limits. First-year commuter studets ca participate i a livig-learig commuity (LLC) ad experiece the best of both worlds, becomig a part of a tight-kit academic circle o campus while still livig at home. Your preceptorial course is liked to the LLC theme you choose ad icludes studets from the same LLC. I the residece hall coected to your LLC theme, you have access to all commo areas, ad a residet assistat i the buildig icludes you i all theme-related activities. Just as importat, you beefit from gettig to kow your professors ad learig i a small-group settig, makig lastig coectios with classmates ad sharig activities related to your theme outside the classroom. Sig up for a LLC whe you fill out your freshma advisig questioaire o the MySaDiego portal ( If you are iterested i the hoors LLC, you must first be ivited to apply ad subsequetly be accepted ito the USD Hoors Program. Home Base For traditioal commuter studets, a sese of belogig begis with havig a place to call your ow. It s much easier to feel a part of a commuity whe you ca put your books dow ad your feet up, greet frieds ad grab a bite i betwee classes. At USD, that is the Commuter Studet Commos. The Commuter Studet Commos has everythig you would fid i a residece hall, except perhaps the loft beds ad lava lamps. You ca get work doe at the study tables or computer statios, make luch i the kitcheette (complete with a refrigerator, microwave ad toaster ove), chat with frieds, take a study break aroud the Wii or the televisio, ad store your goods i the log-term or day-use lockers. You ca eve ivite classmates i for group study sessios. Perhaps most importat, i the Commuter Studet Commos you ca get tips from fellow commuters ad the staff about campus life as you trasitio to USD. Orgaized evets like mothly breakfasts help stregthe the commuter commuity. For these reasos, ad may more, the Commuter Studet Commos will quickly become your home base i the heart of campus. Coveietly adjacet to the Commuter Studet Commos is the Ceter for Studet Success (CSS). CSS staff admiister the commuter studet program, oversee the Commuter Studet Commos ad are available to advise you o academic or persoal issues, or simply coect you with resources o campus. Look for the 2012 Commuter Studet Newsletter later this sprig, which will cotai importat iformatio about Torero Days, Summer Sed Offs ad your firstyear experiece at USD. For more iformatio about liviglearig commuities ad how to sig up, go to: For more iformatio about commuter studet programs, please phoe the Ceter for Studet Success at (619) , css@sadiego.edu, or go to: commuter The Commuter Studet Commos really helped me stay coected to the school. The advisors at the Ceter for Studet Success helped me with class schedulig ad study tips so I could be successful i my classes. You wat to feel icluded ad that s what the commos really strives for. Miguel Perez Sophomore commuter studet Commuter Studet Commos staff member uiversity of sa diego / 13

9 First-Year Foudatio No matter which experiece you choose, livig-learig commuities, traditioal residetial commuities or the commuter experiece, at USD you have a full complemet of metors to help you successfully avigate this first year o your ow. All first-year studets participate i USD s uique preceptorial program. The differece for livig-learig commuity studets is that you get to live with your preceptorial classmates ad egage i co-curricular opportuities aliged with the theme of your LLC. Preceptorial Class A small class for all icomig first-year studets led by a faculty member who also serves as your academic advisor. The course fills a core curriculum requiremet, ad its small size ecourages bodig amog the group ad betwee studets ad professor. If you are i a livig-learig commuity, this course liks to your LLC theme. Preceptor A full-time faculty member who teaches your preceptorial course, metors you as you adjust to college-level scholarship, ad offers resources ad guidace as you pla ad register for courses. Your preceptor remais your advisor util you declare a major. Preceptorial Assistat A successful cotiuig studet who metors preceptorial studets, plas commuity-buildig evets ad is a facilitator for faculty preceptors. Faculty Director A full-time faculty member who provides overall directio for a LLC theme ad coordiates the preceptorial faculty ad the courses coected to that theme. Residet Assistat Peer leaders i your residece hall who are traied to facilitate your trasitio to USD by providig idividual guidace ad servig as a resource for uiversity services ad activities. Commuity Director A live-i professioal director for each residetial commuity who oversees all aspects of residetial life, icludig programmig, disciplie ad supervisio. Residet Miister A live-i miister (uiversity miister or graduate studet traied i theology ad pastoral couselig) who fosters commuity ad spirituality i each residetial livig commuity. Residet Hall Associatio Each residetial area has a hall coucil that sposors programs ad advocates for studets. Ceter for Studet Success (CSS) A cetralized support system for udergraduates, with specific programs for commuter studets, trasfer studets ad out-of-state studets. Traied peer advisors ad professioal staff ca help you address academic ad persoal challeges. The goal is for all studets to fid a home at USD ad to have the resources to succeed. Commuter Studet Commos A welcomig space o campus for commuter studets, complete with lockers, a full kitcheette, computer statios, study tables, relaxig couches ad more. The commos gives commuter studets a place to meet other studets, work together ad become part of the campus commuity. Torero Days Orietatio begis with cotact over the summer ad culmiates i a four-day program where you joi your preceptor group to lear about USD s missio, academic life ad campus commuity. Not oly will you have lots of opportuities to meet your USD classmates, you will meet for your first preceptorial class durig Torero Days. 14 uiversity of sa diego / 15

10 The first-year experiece at USD goes far beyod a orietatio evet ad a ew class schedule. Whether a residet or a commuter studet, you are surrouded by academic, spiritual ad persoal advisors throughout the year, immersed i classes ad complemetary evets that combie scholarship ad friedship, ad elevated by residetial eviromets that ourish your idividuality ad feed your soul. YOUare USD.

11 residetial life Missio Crossroads, Room Alcalá Park Sa Diego, CA (619) LIVING-LEARNING COMMUNITIES Fouders Hall, Room Alcalá Park Sa Diego, CA (619)