Each week students share something that caught their eye. These are examples from this semester, from the first week through the last class. Student names are left off.
Week 1 · First-Year Seminar
One thing that stood out to me this week was how much work I put into school. I had an accounting exam Monday, a math exam Wednesday, and then a stock pitch on Thursday. I studied really hard for both exams and spent a lot of time preparing for my presentation too.
It was definitely a stressful week, but it felt good getting through everything after putting so much time into it. I think my biggest takeaway was realizing how much effort college can take, especially when a lot of things fall in the same week. It was tiring, but I was proud of how hard I worked.
Early semester · A student organization board meeting
This was my first board meeting as a marketing director for the Chinese Business Association. I really wanted to get into this association, so this is truly an incredible experience. I can’t wait to learn more alongside such capable and talented peers, and I’m so excited for what the semester has in store!
Week 5 · IU Auditorium
I had a lot of fun going to the auditorium for our class trip. It was such an incredible experience getting to explore and learn about how everything works. I loved coming up from the pit and singing the fight song, and I can’t wait to explore more!
Week 6 · BuffaLouies
This was such an amazing experience! I learned so much and had the best food ever. The owner was really nice and welcoming, and it was an incredible opportunity getting to hear from him.
Week 6 · BuffaLouies at the Gables
This week, our class visited BuffaLouie’s, where we got to try their new flatbread and talk with the owner. He shared some of his experiences running businesses in Bloomington, including BuffaLouie’s and Gables Bagels. It was cool getting to hear about his businesses and learn a little more about the local community.
Week 7 · School of Education
It was a great experience getting professional tips about learning and education and how important it is to implement what you are learning into the real world. I also really enjoyed the toxic popcorn challenge at the end, and it was a lot of fun!
Week 8 · Memorial Stadium
For our last class of First-Year Seminar, our professor took us on a bus ride to Memorial Stadium, where we got a tour of all the facilities. It was such a cool experience and a great way to end the wonderful past 8 weeks. It was sad knowing it was our last class, but we made sure to go out with a bang.
Looking back, I really enjoyed all the different things we got to do, but what I appreciated most was getting to know my professor and my classmates. Coming to IU for my freshman year, I didn’t really know what to expect, but this class made the transition so much more enjoyable. I am going to miss it, and I am glad I was able to be a part of it.
Support
What is one thing you need help with?
Growth
What is one thing you want to learn or get better at?
Direction
What is one goal you want to reach in your first year?
Belonging
Who can you turn to when college gets difficult?
“In this room, a stumble is not a failure. It’s tuition.”Professor Dayton, welcome note to the class
Each week has a theme and two class meetings. Thursday stops are the places we actually met outside the classroom this fall.
Week 1
Meet the class, say what you hope to get from your first year, and set expectations.
Reading: Fuzz introduction and chapter 1
Week 2
The campus scavenger hunt, and a first pass at a personal inventory of where you have been and where you might go.
Reading: chapters 2 and 3
Thu Sep 3: Indiana Memorial Union. The bus had no air conditioning in the heat, so the tour moved a week.
Week 3
Study strategies such as retrieval practice and spaced repetition, time management, and talking to faculty and staff.
Reading: chapters 4 and 5
Thu Sep 10: the Bloomington bus tour.
Week 4
The ethics of AI in academic work, IU-supported AI tools, and choosing the right tool for a task.
Reading: chapters 6 and 7
Week 5
Work out what you need academically and for your wellbeing, then find the services and spaces that meet it.
Reading: chapters 8 and 9
Thu Sep 24: IU Auditorium.
Week 6
Connect your strengths and values to possible careers. Portfolio drafts get a check-in.
Reading: chapters 10 to 12
Thu Oct 1: BuffaLouies, with the owner as our guest.
Week 7
Working with advisors and faculty, saying what you need, and knowing that asking for help is part of doing well.
Reading: chapters 13 to 15
Thu Oct 8: School of Education, room 2140.
Week 8
Look at which habits worked, set short- and long-term goals, and finish the portfolio.
Thu Oct 15: Memorial Stadium, on the “bus.” Good walking shoes required.
One small team bus, one short afternoon, and more kinds of places than most students see in four years. The tour went past the buildings a campus tour shows you, then kept going into the parts of Bloomington a campus tour skips. The point was learning to notice where you live.
Two kinds of excellence, one written in code and one in brass.
The empty practice field on a Tuesday is where Saturday gets earned. The same goes for a career.
Minutes from Assembly Hall there is a forest and a lake, somewhere to go when the semester presses down.
A furniture factory that became city hall. Places get second acts when someone refuses to give up on them.
Nobody cheers at these stops. They are also what a town is made of, and they sit in the same zip code as your dorm.
Schematic order, taken from Professor Dayton’s written reflection on the tour. Afterward, each of us wrote up three things that struck us, in 200 words or less.
The assignments are built so you finish with things you can use: a resume, a plan, a portfolio, and a clearer sense of where you are headed. The work falls into four themes.
Know yourself
A personal inventory, a first resume, and a career research project that compares where you are with where you want to be.
Learn how to learn
Study strategies, time management, and an AI certificate that teaches when these tools help and when they cross a line.
Know your campus
A scavenger hunt, campus events, and the bus tour, with a short write-up of what struck you along the way.
Show up and share
Class participation, a two-minute spotlight on your own work, weekly website posts, and a final portfolio that pulls the semester together.