Reimagining the First Year Experience
Sept. 10, 2025
For over a decade, new Sewanee students eager to experience life on the Mountain were able to choose from programs like PRE and Finding Your Place (FYP) that would bring them to campus early. But when it came time for the Class of 2029 to choose an early program this year, they had a new option: Sewanee’s reimagined First Year Experience (FYE). Nearly 140 first-year students registered for the program, which brought them to campus on Aug. 21 to begin their introduction to campus life in earnest.
A key component of the University’s recently adopted strategic plan, FYE aims to provide students with a holistic experience that integrates curricular and co-curricular engagement into one cohesive program. “First-year programs have long been recognized as a valuable high-impact practice for supporting students in their adjustment to college,” says Betsy Sandlin, director of the First Year Experience. “With FYE at Sewanee, we’re aiming to build on the many strong programs already in existence at the University by bringing them together in a way that helps promote exploration, relationship building, and a smoother transition into college.”
Those goals are reflected in the three parts of FYE: Explore, Encounter, and Embark. Explore, the first component, takes place before the first day of classes and offers students five different tracks for exploring the wide range of activities and opportunities that Sewanee has to offer. The Learn, Serve, Grow track participants, for instance, volunteered with Sleep in Heavenly Peace, a nonprofit dedicated to providing beds to children in need, and met with other community partners. Other tracks included outdoor exploration on the Domain, wellness activities, reflection on identity and belonging, and athletics.
The second component, Encounter, consists of a four-credit course taught by faculty from a variety of departments, including biology, English, politics, and more. The course begins with a pre-semester immersion and continues through the Advent semester. Each course has a unique focus, but all will engage students in asking and answering questions of vital importance in today’s world. “I chose FYE because the classes really interested me,” says Joseph Tidwell, C’29. “I’m taking How the Bible Matters, which I hope will help me on my spiritual journey.”
Embark, the third component, begins with the start of classes. Taught by faculty and staff members from across the University in conjunction with a peer mentor, Embark is a one-credit course designed to help students navigate their transition to college life and chart their course for the future. “Over the course of the semester, students in Embark will consider their values, interests, and skills, gain insight into all of the opportunities and resources their liberal arts education at Sewanee provides, and think futuristically about how to design a Sewanee experience to serve their goals,” says Kim Heitzenrater, associate dean for career readiness and student success.
When put together, all three components serve to help students quickly find their place and their people at Sewanee, building relationships and making connections within their new community. “I’m looking forward to meeting new people,” says Anna Claire Gibson, C’29. “I’m on the golf team, and my teammates said, ‘Do PRE or FYE, both are super fun and open a lot of doors.’ And I thought FYE would be the best for me.”
This year, FYE ran in a smaller pilot capacity at the same time as the Sewanee Outing Program’s PRE and New Student Orientation. In future years, however, the goal is for all incoming new students to participate in FYE. Such a model would bring all new students to campus early and allow them to experience together FYE’s unique combination of coursework, orientation and transition support, and exploration of opportunities both on and off the Domain.
“The experiential learning and rich relationships supported by FYE create a strong foundation for students’ journeys at Sewanee,” says Sandlin. “We look forward to expanding the program so that more students can experience its benefits as they join the Sewanee community.”
Bed building photo by MarthaLee McCarthy. All other photos courtesy of the First Year Experience program.
