FYE Research Communities: Armstrong Campus

This course is focused on students’ physical needs, their professional ambitions, and their view beyond themselves through the sustainable growth of their academic experience and their personal lives. The three elements will be 1) food and activity to sustain individuals, 2) scientific research as a mechanism of professional growth, and 3) a consideration of breadth of human need. Students will begin in groups with a plot in the Campus Community Garden. They will document the process of growing food with the goal of preparing a dish using their harvest. Simultaneously, they will use information literacy (IL) skills to investigate agricultural and preparation methods along with the associated challenges. A class visit by a local chef will help them understand food preparation and recipe development so they can properly make a dish. Compiled student recipes will yield a First-Year Video Cookbook. Campus orientation will be reinforced with a walking tour led by the Armstrong Arboretum horticulturist, Phillip Schretter, to showcase the variety of edible plants. Toward their professional goals, students will have short conversations/interactions with upper-level student researchers to investigate potential areas of employment in STEM. To educate themselves and their peers, students will again utilize their IL skills to learn and prepare a short presentation about their future careers. Finally, students will explore food insecurity and its disproportionate impact on the poor in this country and around the world by using the Community Read, Born a Crime.

Course Details:
Fridays 12:00-2:00 PM
Armstrong Campus
CRN 87306

This course will look at Trevor Noah’s story of growing in apartheid South Africa within the larger context of his native country’s struggle for democracy. I will supplement “Born a Crime” with additional no-cost reading materials on South African society, history, government, and economy, including sharing some of my own research. This course will also introduce students to comparative method; examining social and political conflicts across cultures.

Course Details:
Fridays 10:10-11:00 AM
Armstrong Campus
CRN 83010

In this class students will explore self-care, mindfulness, stress management techniques, and overall wellness. Students will discover the important role self-care plays in the successful acclimation to college life.

Course Details:
Wednesdays 2:30-3:20 PM
Armstrong Campus
CRN 83021