Category Archives: Things to Know

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.

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.

Academics: Finishing Off the Semester Strong

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Last month, we covered strategies and tips for online learning, but we know this transition continues to be a challenge for many students.

Our campus partner, Brenda Greiner, Director of the Shepard Academic Resource Center, recently shared some timely advice with first-year families that is applicable to all our families:

“First and foremost, have grace – for yourself, for your circumstances, for your productivity, and also for your student. Transition and change are hard. This is what we spend so much time telling students during their first semester. This is hard. For everyone. We are all doing the best we can right now. Give yourself some grace. 

Second, this is a growth opportunity. Growth is often uncomfortable, sometimes even painful. For me this has meant becoming familiar with new technologies and a new way of living out the mission of University of Portland and the Shepard Academic Resource Center.  As we have switched to meeting with students virtually, we have learned so much. It has not been without its hurdles and dropped calls, but I can feel myself growing and am encountering growth and resilience in everyone I encounter. I would encourage you to take a moment and acknowledge how much adapting and pivoting you and your student have done in the past few weeks. This is no small feat.”

As your student heads into their final week of classes and prepares for finals, consider these suggestions for supporting them:

  • Students should lean on their professors.
    • Review sessions and exams may look different for every class depending on the professor. Make sure your student has clarity on what is expected by their professor. If there is any confusion, they should feel free to reach out to their professor and ask for clarification. They can send them emails, visit their “office” hours, or request time to speak on the phone. In whatever format they may use, it is more important than ever for students to reach out to and lean on their professors.
  • Every student is different.
    • Just like every professor may be different in their teaching style, every student is different in their learning style. How has your student found success in studying previously? Is it possible to recreate that environment and those circumstances at home? It may not be possible now, so students will need to be flexible and may need to get creative in their approach to studying. If they usually study in groups, can they set up nightly study sessions on Microsoft Teams with their classmates?
  • Two is better than one.
    • Encourage your student to study with a partner or group. This serves two-fold as it will not only help them learn the material and prepare for finals, but it also provides social interaction and a sense of connection during social distancing. Going through intense things, like studying for finals, is a common college experience, so support your student in living these college experiences, even if it looks a little bit different now.

Br. Thomas Giumenta, C.S.C., the University’s Counselor for Learning Assistance, also provides some advice for families:

  • Dosage
    • We all know that when we take medication, it is very important to take the right dose at the correct time. You don’t get better faster by taking all the pills at once. The same can be true in preparing for final exams. It is hard to start to prepare for exams if you think of “taking it all at once.” Exam preparation must start sooner than later and be parceled out well. This is done by putting the “what in the when.” That means that a student, with the help of an advocate, should look at the content that must be learned and the amount of time that remains to learn it. Then a match must be made by scheduling a specific study time with a specific academic task. It’s a little like making an appointment with yourself.
  • Should I Study for an Open-Book Test?
    • The answer is “yes” – but in a particular way. If a student says to a parent, “There’s no need to study, it’s open book,” that student may not be able to locate the correct answers without familiarizing themselves with the content being tested. Always know where to find all the parts of the correct answer.
  • “It’s Overwhelming to Study for a Comprehensive Final.”
    • If a student says this, they are feeling some discouragement which needs to be addressed. It’s important to see if the professor has provided a study guide for the final exam. If so, that needs to be the starting place. If not, a student can easily make their own study guide and then send it to the professor for comment. Narrowing down the content of study can provide the necessary encouragement. 

All divisions of the Shepard Academic Resource Center are meeting with students and available to help in the following ways:

  • They have sent all first-year students an email inviting them to meet with them and make a study plan for final exams. Please know if your student is having academic difficulties right now, the SARC staff wants to meet with and help them.
  • The Learning Commons is providing online tutoring to students. It is being done virtually through Microsoft Teams. If your student needs help with a specific class, please remind them that tutoring is available.
  • Br. Thomas Giumenta, the Counselor for Learning Assistance, is also meeting with students. We have heard from a lot of students that the change to online testing and time management for virtual classes are two things that have proven to be difficult. Br. Tom is meeting with students to address and overcome these and many other topics.

If your student has academic needs, please encourage them to reach out to the Shepard Academic Resource Center by sending an email to sarc@up.edu, calling 503.943.7895 and leaving a message, or by connecting with any of their staff through Microsoft Teams.