Author Archives: Sarah

First Year Focus: Maximizing Your First College Summer

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As the school year winds down, first-year students will often feel a wide range of emotions (probably more this year than ever): relief upon finishing their first year, excitement for summer freedom, sadness to be away from their friends for even longer, and uncertainty about sophomore year. Courtney Campbell, Program Manager of First Year Programs in the Shepard Academic Resource Center, shares how your student can maximize their summer to ensure a great start to their second year on campus.

When in college, summertime offers a new and different taste of adult freedom. With freedom, as the Eleanor Roosevelt quote goes, comes responsibility. Here are three things to put on your student’s radar during the summer months to help them avoid the “Sophomore Slump.” The learning continues even after classes end in April!

1. Reflect on the First Year

It is very easy for students to turn in that last final exam in April and think “I did it – now on to summer!” and completely disregard the immense transition they have just gone through. After some deep breaths and celebrations of success, your student should think critically about their first year at UP. Some questions you can ask your student to help with this reflection are:

  • How did your study habits have to change from high school?
  • What was your favorite/least favorite class? Why?
  • What did you accomplish this year that you are proud of?
  • What advice would you give an incoming student?
  • What do you wish you would have done differently this year?

These open-ended questions should spark a great conversation between you and your student. By answering and reflecting on these, your student should be able to process the growth they’ve done over their first year and also hear their own advice for best practices as a student.

2. Build an Employable Skill Set Online

Summer jobs are a great way to spend time gaining transferable career skills and save up some spending money, but the reality is that COVID-19 may have impacted your student’s internship and summer job plans. Here is my favorite piece of advice I received in college, which I think still applies now:

“What career do you want after college? Find a job description right now that you would consider your ‘dream job.’ Read the required skills section, and from there figure out what jobs you can get now that relate to those bullet points. Once you graduate, you will have tangible evidence that you are a great candidate for a similar role. Need strong customer service skills? Go work where you’ll encounter all different types of people. Need knowledge on a specific topic? Find a place you can learn on the job!”

Even though summer job and internship plans may have shifted, it doesn’t mean that students can’t start working towards their “dream job” by following a similar mental exercise and then building their skill set online! CollegiateParent offers ideas for free and low-cost online courses and certifications. UP also offers free certifications in specific skills through LinkedIn Learning, which even allows employers to view which courses students have completed. Students can access LinkedIn Learning through their MyApps portal.

Your student can also reach out to the UP Career Center to get their resumes and cover letters polished over the summer. The Career Center is available virtually!

3. Read for Fun

Students have been told what to read for 8 months and may feel some negativity toward picking up another book. To combat the dislike of reading, suggest that they pick up a book for fun and read it. Even one book over the summer for their own personal enjoyment can reverse some of the negative thinking when it comes to the act of reading. There are so many books out there that follow current events, are based on technology, or are just plain fun fiction. If your student doesn’t know where to start on finding a book, have them visit this common reading website which has specially curated lists for college students!

Also, don’t forget about your local public library. Many of them have e-reader options. And what college student doesn’t love free things?

Overall, your student might feel like their life flew past them at 90 miles an hour during their first year at college. This summer can still be an opportunity to learn – but maybe at 30 miles an hour instead. Taking things slow and being intentional with how they spend their time will help bridge the gap between their first and second years.

Courtney Campbell works in the UP Shepard Academic Resource Center specializing in First Year Programming. Courtney’s goal is to ensure the successful transition of all first-year students to UP’s campus and through to their second year. Courtney is a great example of someone who went to college as a pre-health student and graduated with a different career path in mind. After receiving her BS in Biochemistry from the University of Texas at Dallas, Courtney taught high school math and college preparation in Atlanta, Georgia through Teach for America. Her work with students guided her to pursue her M.Ed. in Professional Counseling from the University of West Georgia with an emphasis in College Student Affairs. Courtney’s passion for First Year Programming can be traced all the way back to her first on-campus jobs as an undergraduate – Orientation Leader and First Year Workshop Leader.

Once a Pilot, always a Pilot!

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“How did you choose UP?” I think this is a question that nearly every Pilot student has been asked at some point. If I’m being honest, I can’t quite recall what my thought process was as an 18-year-old high school senior, but I do know that by the end of my first year on The Bluff, I could readily respond if someone asked, “Why are you choosing to stay at UP?” Like many first-year students, I had moments of doubt. But by the end of spring semester, as I reflected on my first year away at college, I realized that I had stumbled into a warm, compassionate community, and I had no interest in leaving! I couldn’t wait to return for my sophomore year and to become increasingly involved and invested.

Fast-forward a few years to the spring of 1998. As the remaining days of my senior year dwindled, I felt profound sadness about leaving The Bluff and heading out into the real world. I thought that a chapter of my life was closing, until a wise friend reminded me, “Remember, you don’t come to UP just to be a student. You come to be an alum, too.” Indeed, you do. Little did I know that my post-graduate experience of the University would be equally as rich as my years as an undergraduate.  

So now that final exams and the conferral of degrees are in the rear-view mirror, what’s next for our graduating Pilot families? Here are three easy ways for you and your recent graduate to stay connected with the University of Portland.

1. Connect with your local regional chapter.

Parents, alumni, and friends of UP are invited to stay connected with the UP community by participating in social, service, faith, and educational events available through our regional chapters. Check out our list of chapters to see if there is one in a city near you! Our Pilot communities continue to thrive while maintaining a safe social distance, so be on the lookout for virtual gatherings in the coming months (and future gatherings once it is safe to do so).

2. Sign up for UP Switchboard.

UP Switchboard is an online platform that makes it simple for UP students, alumni, parents, and community members to ask for help or offer support in areas such as career networking, hosting, housing, advice, and events. Learn more about Switchboard and see how you can demonstrate UP’s spirit of generosity by helping other Pilots!

3. Sign up to receive Light from The Bluff

Light from The Bluff is a monthly, faith-based newsletter for University of Portland alumni, parents, and friends. Each edition features a scripture reflection written by a UP community member as well as other faith-focused content. Sign up to receive our next issue!

We will also be communicating with our new graduates on a regular basis throughout May and June to share additional resources and opportunities for alumni. We are grateful for our Pilot families, and we hope that you will stay in touch!

Craig Swinyard Ph.D. ’98 graduated from UP with a degree in mathematics. During his undergraduate days, Craig was actively involved as an RA in Villa Maria Hall during his junior and senior year. Craig returned to The Bluff in 2008 as a faculty member in the mathematics department and continues to teach in addition to his role as Director of Alumni & Parent Relations.

Mental Health: How to Support Your Student

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In our March parent newsletter, mental health was the most clicked on topic. We know this topic is vitally important and weighing heavily on the minds of both our students and our families. Join Active Minds and the Health and Counseling Center this coming Sunday, April 19, for a discussion on ways to support your student during this time of transition.

Active Minds is a nationally recognized club that works with the goal of promoting mental health awareness and ending the stigma surrounding mental illnesses across college campuses. The University of Portland’s Active Minds chapter has partnered with the Health and Counseling Center to bring parents and care-givers a space to learn how to support their students now that they may be back home from school.

This parent-oriented event will include a discussion led by Paris Schaefer, the Assistant Director of Counseling and Training at the Health and Counseling Center, and Dr. Sarina Saturn, a UP psychology professor and the Active Minds Club Advisor. Topics will include:

  • How to maintain structure
  • Accepting and acknowledging you student’s grief
  • Maintaining personal space
  • How to reach out for more help when needed

In addition to a discussion on how to support your student during this difficult time of uncertainty and transition, there will be a Q&A portion where parents can ask questions.

This meeting is limited to parents only, excluding the Activ­­e Minds student leaders who will join to share the student perspective when appropriate.

This discussion will be held via Zoom this Sunday, April 19 at 4 p.m. PST. You can join the meeting by using the link zoom.us/j/894795387. Please email activeminds@up.edu for any questions or concerns about the event.

We also encourage you and your student to check out the Self-Help Resources compiled by UP’s Health & Counseling Center. For those who missed it last month, we also encourage you to check out our “Managing Mental Health” tips.