色虎视频

by Patricia Erikson

Students have moved into their residence halls. Classes have begun. And canines Olive, Elsie, and Francie have reported for duty.

Feeling at home and warding off homesickness are two ingredients in a successful transition for college students. Knowing this, Saint Joseph鈥檚 College has developed a series of programs to help鈥�First Year Student Series: College 101.

Before grabbing their towels and heading for the cooling powers of Sebago Lake, students are stopping by a dorm lounge for a 鈥淵appy Hour鈥� to meet the canine celebrities鈥揳ka the Canine Assistants鈥揳nd to meet staff and other students.

There鈥檚 Olive, a 10 year old, 40 pound gentle soul of a聽hound. Then there鈥檚 Elsie, a 6 year old, 12 pound sprite of a dog with terrier spunk who is flying about the room and making people smile. And making a cameo appearance is Francie, a chocolate brown 15 pound border terrier.

鈥淐an I pet them?鈥� a student asks.

Director of the Counseling Center Liz Wiesen raises her hands, 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why they鈥檙e here. Pick them up. Hold them. Whatever you like. They鈥檙e here for you.鈥�

A couple dozen students drop by over the course of the hour of this one day of a three-day program.

Counseling Center staff help the College community at large to understand that students have left behind their families, their hometown friends, and their pets. Although students are making a new family on campus, they can still feel a lot of loneliness while they build new relationships.

Programs like these have emerged nationally to address a flagging rate of retention among first-year students. In 2015, nationwide, only 61 percent of students who started college in the fall returned to the same institution in the following year. At 色虎视频, however, innovative programming has led to an increase in student persistence, such that over 80% of first year students return the following year, which exceeds the national average.

Wiesen said, 鈥淪tudies have shown that it鈥檚 all about academic and social integration. Connecting with the campus community is a significant factor in persistence. The first six weeks are critical.鈥�

Here are some more programs in the series:

Homesick as Hell

Over 65% of First Year students feel homesick鈥�. TRUTH. Learn some strategies to make the adjustment to college a little less difficult.

Wednesday, September 5^th, 4:00-5:00

Alfond Center Student Lounge

Live Like a Monk

This workshop will talk about ways to get your feet under you so that you can figure out the lay of the land and feel comfortable on campus.

Wednesday, September 12th鈥�, 4:00-5:00

Alfond Center Student Lounge

Roommate: Deal or Ditch?

Sharing a small space with anyone is a challenge. This presentation will help you figure out when and how to best deal with a situation or when and how to call it quits.

Wednesday, September 19th鈥�, 4:00-5:00

Alfond Center Student Lounge

The Friendship Paradox

Making friends in college is important, but it takes time.聽聽 Learn about how developing college friends is similar to yet different from past experiences.

Wednesday, September 26th鈥�, 4:00-5:00

Alfond Center Student Lounge

Thank you to Binga鈥檚 of Windham for donating delicious appetizers for the students to gather and meet new friends.