Class Objectives:

After successful completion of Week Two of FY101, students will fulfill the learning outcome of BU Community through:

  • Identifying co-curricular activities that align with their interests and goals
  • Navigating Terrier Central and other resources to learn about and join activities of interest  
  • Discovering the skills and practices necessary to make personal connections  
  • Making personal connections with other students and staff in FY101
Week Two Outline:
  • Ice Breaker
    • View all of our ice breakers. Tier 1 or Tier 2 based on the temperature of your class
  • Highs & Lows of the week
  • Share what Getting Involved looks like at BU
    • What does it mean to get involved?
      • Endless options for involvement: Student organizations, on or off campus jobs, Residence Hall Associations, Community Service Center, Howard Thurman Center, research, athletics, religious life, etc. 
      • View the Student Life and Health + Wellness tabs on our Resources page
    • Why is it important to get involved?
      • Can help you define your interests academically, personally, and professionally
      • Helps you get the most out of your (very expensive) education
      • All research in higher ed says students who are involved are more satisfied with their college experience
      • Getting involved also helps students make friends and find communities
    • What does getting involved look like? Have your Peer Mentor share a few things they are involved in, what they have gained from them, and how they found those opportunities.
      • Emphasize the difference in attendance expectations between student organizations (can join and attend meetings when it suits you) vs a work study job (where you have to show up for all of your shifts) or research (you are expected to show up for specific hours and complete specific tasks).
      • Have them describe what happens at a club meeting in order to demystify clubs in college and help your students see how they might meet people through getting involved.
  • Finding Opportunities: Peer Mentor shows class how to use Terrier Central to find student organizations of interest at BU. Peer Mentor can also show how to find additional opportunities for involvement that are not on the SLIC website:
  • Group activity of your choice. Get them moving and talking about their interests. Check out our suggestions below.
  • De-brief as a group. Ask if students have attended any club meetings? Found a job on campus, etc? How is their exploration going? Share Instructor/PM experiences of how you find what makes you come alive in college vs. just doing things to put them on a resume. Encourage students to attend a general interest meeting or event this week!
  • Be sure to promote our office! CAS Student Programs & Leadership (OSPL) runs the First Year Experience, events in the fall semester specifically for first-year students and first-semester transfers.These events are meant to help our newest undergraduates, both first-years and transfer students, transition into the intellectual, social, and cultural community of Boston University. The more events you attend, the more rewards you are eligible to receive. All students are welcome to attend; rewards program is limited to CAS First-Years, CAS First Semester Transfers, and all students enrolled in FY101.
Our activity + ice breaker suggestions for the second week: 
  • Concentric Circles: Put your students in two equal circles, one interior and one exterior so every student is facing another student. Shift the outside circle one to the right after each question so they talk to a new student for each prompt.
    • What was your favorite activity in high school or your last institution?
    • What was something you did in high school or your last institution that you don’t want to continue?
    • What is something you did in high school or your last institution that you do want to continue?
    • What is something new you want to try at BU?
  • Four Corners: Place signs in each of the four corners of the room for different involvement opportunities (below). Have students choose one of four options (corners) and stand in that corner. In the groups, have them say something they would each want to join individually and then work together to find one thing of interest their whole group can do. They can sit down in their new groups and use Terrier Central and other BU websites to find opportunities. Have each group share back with the class the group’s common interest.
    • Four corners: Academic Opportunities, Cultural Opportunities, Athletic Opportunities, and Community Service Opportunities
  • Make your own club: Break your class into groups of 4-5 students. Give them 5 minutes to get to know each other; prompt them with questions about interests, high school activities, majors, skills etc. Then have them collectively make up a student organization they could run together based on their skills and interests. Make sure it doesn’t already exist with SLIC and then share your organization’s title and mission statement with the class. Option to make a poster for the club with paper and markers.