Striding

September 8, 2022

Week 3 already? For many on campus, that means we're hitting our strides once again.

But for our new students, this week marks the start of a particularly critical stretch. Over the next 3 weeks, some students will begin to feel at home academically and socially. Others will confront the most overwhelming challenges, either in the classroom or outside it. And academic and social privilege are pretty good predictors of what each will experience.

First major tests and important grades. Old study and time-management strategies prove ineffective. Roommate relationships hit bumpy patches. Challenging conversations in class -- about race, gender, class, politics, or religion -- can fuel social anxiety. Dining hall food loses its novelty. Prescription medicines run out. Alcohol doesn't. High school friends' social media make their college experiences look a lot better.

That quick trip home for Labor Day? That made homesickness worse for some. So did staying on campus when new friends all went home. And does anyone here know my name yet?

It can be too much to handle, as some of us learned when we mapped the first-year student journey (link for full version.)

This week in Goa, all first-year students discussed strategies for academic success. Topics included time management, note-taking, reading, writing, and how to contact their professors and other academic resources.

My own class reminded me how differently prepared our students arrive -- socially and academically -- including in ways completely unrelated to their aptitude. The most privileged will be the readiest to navigate a stretch of college life that (I venture) few of us remember clearly.

Many will stumble in the next few weeks. So I made sure to remind my own students that Xavier faculty and staff -- you -- are ready to support them as they find their own strides.