MU| F e a t u r e s
I
n Associate Professor John Deal’s
Seinfeld Economics course, students
explore basic economic concepts
through the prism of the hit 1990s
TV sitcom.
Fun? Sure.
Educational? Absolutely.
But more important, the course is designed to
help first-year students adjust to college in a
variety of ways.
The idea is Manchester’s distinctive approach
to the First Year Seminar (FYS) in which
outside-the-box courses engage first-year
students in the University experience.
Launched in 2012, FYS aims to smooth
students’ transition to college by providing
an environment of community and helping
students develop a feel for college-level
coursework.
The goals of FYS include practicing collegelevel writing, developing skills in critical and
analytical thinking, and exploring a unique
disciplinary or interdisciplinary subject at
length. The subjects are unlike other courses
offered at Manchester and have included such
topics as:
• Invaded by Aliens: Invasive Species
And Their Impacts
• You Are What You Eat: Food In
American Culture
• Hip Hop Culture: A Study of
Evolution And Impact
• The Quest For Historical Jesus
FYS is required for all first-year students at
Manchester. The students who choose the
same FYS course form a Student Orientation
Leader (SOL) group with whom they spend
their first week on campus. When Welcome
Week ends and classes begin, the students’
SOL group becomes their FYS class, meaning
they already know everyone in the class. “It’s
very much a nurturing environment,” says
Stacy Erickson-Pesetski, associate professor
of English, whose own FYS course last year
explored the role of food in American culture.
“They make really close friendships,” says
Erickson-Pesetski.
In each FYS course – there were 22 this fall
– the FYS instructor also serves as the first
MU advisor for students in the group. Their
frequent interaction builds a bond and helps
faculty recognize students who may need
extra encouragement.
After the first few weeks have passed,
Erickson-Pesetski says, “I’ll ask who’s feeling
homesick.” That type of question may trigger
a discussion about adjusting to university life.
“First years are pretty open,” she says. “With
only 20 in the class, we can tell if someone is
struggling.”
the choice is theirs, students can select a
topic related to their major or just something
they’d like to learn more about. For her FYS,
Rachel Laing ’16 took Once: Classical and
Revisionist Fairytales, taught by Katharine
Ings, associate professor of English. “I’m
an English major, so it was relevant to my
interests,” Laing said. “I looked at the list of
classes and the word ‘fairytales’ really stuck
out to me.”
Shay Aator ’17, a political science major,
chose The Truth Behind Bullying: What
Mean Girls Teach Us, taught by Heather
Schilling ’90, associate professor of
education. “I really like the movie Mean
Girls,” says Aator. “I also wanted to know
what I could do to help people who have
gotten bullied in the past.”
Students in FYS also recognize that collegelevel courses can be interesting in ways that
high school classes probably weren’t. Because
Andrea Brewster ’19 (opposite page) listens
intently in her First Year Seminar class;
Associate Professor Stacy Erickson-Pesetski
(above) leads her FYS group; and Cassandra
Nickerson ’19 (left) and Carly Kwiecien ’19
collaborate on their work.
Manchester | 19