Summertime programs to ease the transition for first-year Briggsies

August 5, 2020 - Krysta Coleman

As professors create course syllabi and staff plan for programming and student support systems, nearly 600 students are preparing to begin their college journey at Lyman Briggs College. In the past year, these same students have overcome adversity as they graduated from high school in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, they face the challenge of beginning their Spartan journey in a setting that will look different than what they imagined. With the added challenges of adjusting to college comes a call for resilience, and the development of a support system as the Briggs Class of 2024 begins their journey. 

New Peer Mentoring Program 

True to the Briggs community spirit, 56 returning students came forward this summer to become Briggs Peer Mentors through the newly launched Briggs Connect online platform. These sophomores, juniors and seniors have volunteered to support their newest classmates and will share their wisdom and insight through email check-ins and individual and group virtual sessions with their mentees throughout the fall semester. In these sessions, first-year Briggsies will connect with their mentors and the 10-12 other students in their small cohort. This is a chance for mentees to meet new people and create friendships that will extend far beyond their first years. Information about this program is being sent to first-year students leading up to the semester. 

Summertime Programs 

Incoming students and their families have had the chance to begin learning from Briggs faculty and staff already. Staff members have contributed time and compiled information into several webinars to help prepare students with tools and knowledge as they begin their coursework this fall. Similarly, our faculty and undergraduate learning assistants have created content for a “Meet the Faculty” video series which gives students the opportunity to hear from, and connect with, some of the LBC professors before they even begin their first classes.

The Briggs community has banded together to create a network of support as our newest Briggsies begin their college degrees. As Tushya Mehta, an undergraduate learning assistant and current LBC sophomore shared in his Meet the Faculty video, “We always go together. No one gets left behind.” 

Together, we will.