Easter 2010
Dear Parents:
I write this letter with great anticipation, as the Great Vigil of Easter will begin in just a few hours; and with a keen awareness that our spring semester is drawing nigh. The maturation of the Class of 2013 has been indeed heartening. Our advisors in the First Year of Studies (FYS) have been extraordinarily impressed by the passion and intellectual curiosity of your daughters and sons.
Some have already made final decisions about an intended college and major. For others, the discernment process continues apace. My prayer is that all of them will remain open to those chance encounters, unexpected friendships, and moments of serendipity so central to a liberal education in the Catholic tradition. Such events “awaken” deep within a desire to explore life’s mysteries and to utilize the Arts, Humanities, Sciences, and Theological Disciplines as tools in so doing. Helping students both to plan for and launch this four-year adventure in research and learning is both our “calling” and joy as FYS faculty.
We are proud of all that this entering class has achieved and thankful for the love, support, and encouragement you have given them since their arrival in August. Your trust is making it possible for them to develop the confidence needed to thrive as rising sophomores.
Transitioning from the First Year
While the declaration of an intended college must take place before the end of the first year, the designation of a major is handled in a variety of ways by our several undergraduate academic units. Students entering the College of Arts and Letters may indicate a major if they are prepared so to do. However, a declaration is not formally required until the end of the sophomore year. The Mendoza College of Business has a standard curriculum for all second-year students. Final decisions about majors are not made until the end of the sophomore year. Those enrolling in the School of Architecture’s undergraduate program (B.Arch.) began taking Architecture courses during their first year. As sophomores, they will continue with the second year of its standard five-year curriculum. Students moving to either the College of Engineering or Science must declare a major during the spring semester of the first year. PIN Nights, at which students will receive information about registering for Fall 2010 courses, will be held during Easter Week.
Resources for Students and Families
In addition to the mentoring provided by FYS faculty advisors, several events (e.g., Majors’ Night, Spotlight Programs, the Dean’s Fireside Chat, and Professors Unplugged) that focus attention on integrated learning, intellectual exploration, colleges, and curricular options have been held earlier this term. Our Learning Resource Center continues to sponsor tutoring and collaborative learning sessions for students in need of additional academic support. Our Learning Strategies Specialist also remains available to students in need of special assistance.
I will be inviting first-year students to prepare a very brief “capstone meditation” in which they: reflect on what they have learned during the first year; assess progress toward their personal goals; and note some preliminary learning objectives for the upcoming academic year. By so doing, I hope they will begin to identify those ideals that constitute the “animating core” of their collegiate experience and reflect on how to fashion an approach to life that balances intellectual, spiritual, and other pursuits. It is vitally important, as the first-year experience comes to a close, that our students begin to develop both a lifelong learning program and strategic plan for personal development. This voluntary exercise in contemplative writing is the first step in so doing.
Closing Thought
Within the Catholic tradition, Holy Week is a period of prayer and preparation as the community of the faithful make a significant transition from Lent to the celebration of Easter – the heart and soul of the Christian tradition. It is also a time when members of our multi-faceted and diverse community of learners at Notre Dame are able to reflect on what it means to be stewards of knowledge, devotees of Love, and pilgrims heeding Wisdom’s call. Our vocations – whether we are parents, faculty, staff, or students – are the poetry through which those hopes we harbor are most eloquently expressed. May the days ahead find us rejuvenated and inspired as the intellectual and spiritual “seeds” planted long ago in the hearts of our first-year students flower into the dreams that will guide them on the next stage of their exciting journey.
Sincerely,
(The Rev.) Hugh R. Page, Jr., DMin, PhD
Dean, First Year of Studies
Associate Professor of Theology and Africana Studies
