First Year Experience Students Reach Out to Grateful Counterparts at University of Colorado-Boulder
JONESBORO – During this season of thanksgiving, people have lots of reasons to express appreciation to others who have reached out in one way or another.
Such is the case for students at the University of Colorado at Boulder, whose campus was flooded earlier this semester, and some First Year Experience (FYE) students at Arkansas State University, which crafted a way to help their fellow students.
As part of a required FYE course, all new students had the opportunity to get involved in various ways with a tornado disaster drill, such as theater majors acting as victims, nursing majors serving as emergency responders, engineering students inspecting structural damage, and many more. The goal was to expose students to the roles of various professions, according to Dr. Jill Simons, dean of University College.
Following the drill, FYE students took the simulation back to their classrooms and into service-learning experiences, philanthropic causes and research projects.
One of the FYE classes, led by Rhonda Curbo, voted to raise money for a college that has undergone an actual natural disaster, so they chose UC-Boulder. Class members conducted a raffle, a bake sale, and a personal solicitation project, Simons explained, and they raised $521.
“We are excited that the students took this initiative,” Simons wrote to UC-Boulder administrators. “We hope that you will be able to receive a gift from our students to use as you see fit on you campus. The small token was a great lesson in humanity.”
Even with generous local efforts, a UC-Boulder representative said there are many unmet needs, making the gift from A-State students very timely.
“We continue to have students who lost books, laptops, and housing,” responded Dr. Russell L. Moore, provost and executive vice chancellor for academic affairs. “On behalf of the Boulder campus, we deeply appreciate the concern of the Arkansas State community, and specifically the generosity of your students.”
The project was carried out in support of A-State’s mission to educate leaders, enhance intellectual growth and enrich lives.
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