Connections
Introduction
Pillars for Carolina has been a monumental experience for me as a student here at Carolina. Pillars for Carolina is an extended freshman orientation program, and I have had the opportunity as serving as an Extended Mentor (XM), and am currently serving as the Co-Director of Staff Development.
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Within the classroom, I have had numerous classes that have helped guide my interests for a career, like Women and the Law, or Health Care Management, but University 101, one of the first classes I took at UofSC, help set me up for a path full of accomplishments.
Within the Classroom––University 101
From my first moments on campus at UofSC, I was terrified about how exactly I was going to find my community, learn about resources, and above all, succeed as a college student. From my first few days in my Capstone University 101 class, I immediately felt welcomed in the class by my Professor and Peer Leader. Through easy class introductions, bonding activities, and class discussions, I was able to make my first friends in my only in person class at the time due to COVID. This warm, welcoming environment is what led me to wanting to eventually serve as a Peer Leader.
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University 101 additionally helped me identify and learn about resources on campus. With presentations dedicated to Health Services on campus, to the Career Center and identifying how to transform my high school resume to a version suitable for college, and traditions on campus like Chicken Finger Wednesday or Capstone's Hot Cookie Friday, University 101 helped put me on a path filled with knowledge and opportunities.
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While I am currently entertaining the idea of Law School and being an attorney as my most probable career, University 101 helped spark my interest in working in some form with higher education. Being involved in incoming freshman lives or with the transition to college in general has allowed for me to contemplate what it might look like working for a university.
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My University 101 Class!
Here are four of the ten stages of first year students. We discussed all ten stages during a Pillars training.
Beyond the Classroom––Pillars for Carolina
Due to COVID-19, many of my first introductions to UofSC were virtual, which lead me to jumping at any opportunity to join organizations or clubs that would meet in person. It was through a recommendation of a previous member of Pillars for Carolina Staff that I took the leap and decided to apply. I had no previous knowledge regarding the organization, so I was going off of the words of others when I applied.
Fast forward to the summer of 2021 where I was serving as an Extended Mentor (XM) for the Capstone week of Pillars, and I completely fell in love with the entirety of the program. Watching my group of 20 incoming freshman break out of their shells, become vulnerable with our family group, work together with our games and bonding activities, and hear them say to each other that the first week of classes were only a few weeks away and they couldn't wait to see each other, I knew that this was a program I did not yet want to part with. I took another leap of faith and applied to be the Co-Director of Staff Development because I knew that would give me the most interactions with previous participants who are now members of Staff. My main goal going into this position was to just make our trainings as interactive and fun as possible, and reflecting back upon the semester, I feel like I was able to accomplish that. While I'm not currently planning on going to Graduate School for Higher Education, my time in Pillars has helped open a variety of doors to me and has allowed me to see other career options I did not know previously existed. Pillars also has helped me recognize that your first impressions of campus, student involvement and interactions can be pivotal to your college experience, and it's vital to try and welcome incoming students and show them opportunities to the best of our abilities. Had I not been welcomed as a freshman and introduced to Pillars, my college experience would not be what it is now.
Through my University 101 class and my involvement in Pillars for Carolina, I have seen how vital it is to learn about resources when coming to college, and how connections and interactions with faculty, staff, and other students can help ease your transition to college. The University of South Carolina is extremely highly ranked for our first year experience, and I think a large part of that is due to programs like University 101 and Pillars for Carolina that focuses specifically on new students to the University.
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Through my own experience of coming to college during the peak of COVID-19, I know what it feels like to be lonely and confused with the transition to college, but by having an outlet or source like University 101 to discuss these problems or fears I was experiencing, I learned how to address and tackle things head on. It's through these experiences and feelings that we are able to develop Pillars for Carolina curriculum, and address what our incoming students/participants might be feeling. By being able to pin point at what point do students struggle with specific problems or issues, we can adapt the Pillars curriculum and experience to better suit students with both their transition to Carolina, but also their college experience as a whole.