In this video, CELE Center Executive Director Francesca Lo takes on the challenge of explaining the UW Community Engagement Center and Leadership Education (CELE) Center in less than 15 seconds at a time.
Category: Academic resources
Posts that relate to programs in the academic resources menu.
A pathway with promise
In June, 2021, Vice Provost and Dean Ed Taylor joined then-Mayor Jenny Durkan and educational leaders to announce increased funding for the successful college tuition and success program. The new funding prepares and supports Seattle Promise students in several ways, including their application and then transfer to the UW.
As reported by , in the news conference Taylor 鈥渓ikened it to a relay race, with the batons passed smoothly from high schools to community colleges and then to the UW.鈥�
The baton was passed to the UW as the partnership officially launched September 2021. The first cohort of participants in the partnership have wrapped up a year of advice and support. Eighty-three Seattle Promise students applied to the UW during this process, and 60 were admitted for the upcoming 2022-23 academic school year.
Resources and more info for and about the transfer student experience
- The next Seattle Promise application for Seattle鈥檚 public high school class of 2023 opens in autumn, 2022. Learn more at .
- from community college in general.
- 鲍础础鈥檚 Community College Research Initiatives (CCRI) group conducts research on equitable college access, progression and transfer, degree completion, and employment in living-wage careers.
For the next cohort, a pool of around 1,100 students in Seattle Promise will have the ability to access the Path to UW adviser, Lily Peterson, and could choose to move forward in applying for a UW transfer. Path to UW programming includes events and workshops to help students explore transferring to the UW, prepare to apply and transfer to the UW, individualized admissions and advising support, and summer seminar courses to help students prepare academically for the transition to the UW.
Many Seattle Promise students would be the first in their families to earn a college degree, come from low-income backgrounds, or experience other barriers to higher education. For these students, this can make the college application and transition process ambiguous and difficult to navigate. An adviser with experience in admissions, financial aid applications and academic planning helps students transfer successfully by supporting each student in learning how and what information to access to get their needs met in a larger system.
Path to UW adviser Peterson鈥檚 own pathway to advising is rooted in her belief in access to higher education and support for all students. Peterson鈥檚 dual roles of UW undergraduate academic adviser and have allowed her to witness firsthand the discrepancy between societal narratives of equity in access to higher education versus the lived reality. Peterson sums up the goal of the Path project as 鈥渟upporting students who are furthest from educational justice.鈥�
Peterson explains, 鈥淧eople assume that everybody has the same access to being able to apply to and be competitive and successfully enter into a four-year institution. But realistically, a lot of students are not even given a chance because of barriers, because of funding.鈥�
Many students who Peterson and her fellow advisers support are navigating numerous unseen barriers that impact educational access, from funding and financial responsibilities, familial obligations, limited resources of time and even wider community responsibilities.
Knowledge and understanding of these intersections of systems help advisers apply holistic approaches to their work. Advisers help students understand the university system so they are better prepared to move through it. Identifying each student’s personal educational goals and dreams, advisers can accompany them with opportunities, information and tools so that they may realize them. Peterson additionally helps students efficiently connect to UW units, and she partners closely with directors and staff in UW resources.
As the Path to UW continues into its second year, advisers will walk alongside them, checking in to learn, 鈥淲hat are the students’ influences or family impacts on their decisions? What timelines do they need to be on? Where have they felt seen or unseen in representation? Do they feel safe and able to participate in certain programs?鈥� For Peterson, learning the answers to these questions enables her to better understand the student in front of her and is fundamental to her practice of advising.
Honors Director Vicky Lawson prepares for next adventure
After more than three decades of service to the 糖心原创, Vicky Lawson will retire at the end of the academic year. Lawson, professor of geography and poverty researcher, has spent the past eight years directing the , contributing to the deepening of its interdisciplinary focus and approach to intentional community building, innovative thinking and global citizenship.
Lawson is past president of the Association of American Geographers and former chair of the Department of Geography. Having worked across South and North America on informal economies, women鈥檚 work and poverty, her classes focus on the intersections of poverty, inequality and feminist care ethics. In addition to her leadership in the Honors Program, she is co-director of the , a global research network that aims to expand thinking about the causes of poverty in both rich and poor countries. During her tenure at the UW, she has served as adjunct professor in the Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies and as a faculty affiliate of the West Coast Poverty Center.
As Lawson prepares to pass the role of Honors Program director to Stephanie Smallwood, she shares her thoughts on her accomplishments as director, the transformation of undergraduates through the interdisciplinary program, and the enduring impact of the Honors Program.
Honors broadened my view
How has the Honors Program most impacted and changed you?
With a 35-year career in the geography department and College of Arts and Sciences, coming over to Honors changed my perspective on undergraduate education and the University as a whole. Honors broadened my view of the University, in terms of who holds the University up and how, and in terms of the breadth of interests and capacities of students from all across the University. Honors spans the entire campus [and includes] students, instructors and classes from every college. It was a new vantage point for me of the brilliance of students regardless of what corner of campus or what background they come from.
I teach a class on houselessness and one particular student from aeronautics engineering made a profound contribution to an art exhibit my students installed with Real Change News through a comparative historical photography project of Seattle. It was a wakeup call for me to realize that it’s not just geographers who know how to read a city.
In addition to appreciating the breadth and curiosity of the students, coming over to UAA was coming into a space that is driven by professional staff. I came to appreciate just how staff hold up the University and how much they contribute. Getting to work closely with incredibly talented staff was a real gift because you see the commitment and the depth of the work they do. In Honors, all the staff are leaders. It’s a super creative space.
A deep commitment to inviting in the students
How has the Honors Program changed in the past eight years?
It was already an incredibly innovative, complex, interdisciplinary space when I got here. I don’t take a lot of credit for the brilliance of this program. I just came in and tried to amplify and support what the staff were already doing. These were things that were already happening, but we have been deeply introspective about difference and intersectional equity in our program. Honors has evolved tremendously over its , especially over the past two decades. has been a leader on this work, but everybody’s been involved in understanding who our students are and where they come from. We have been committed to bringing in first-generation students and students of color and understanding how we’re doing compared to the University as a whole. We have a lot more work to do, but we do have a deep commitment to inviting in students who saw the label 鈥淗onors鈥� and thought, 鈥淲ell, that’s not a space for me.鈥� Instead [we] invite them to know that, actually, participating in Honors is being part of an education that honors the University. Everybody鈥檚 backgrounds, experience and knowledge brings brilliance. It’s been a major part of what we’ve been doing. Juliana has led on it, and everybody has leaned in very seriously on that work.
Interdisciplinary education, experiential learning, and being in community
Another area that I’m particularly personally proud of in Honors is this incredibly creative space that has always rested on pillars of interdisciplinary education, experiential learning and being in community. I wanted to invite the whole campus into this space with our students, and one of the ways that we did that was through our . We built an annual event that puts people from different walks of life in conversation with each other and asks them to talk about an issue that students themselves raised. We pull the freshmen in and say, 鈥淲hat do you care about? What is keeping you up at night?鈥� We’ve done this now since 2015. Each year we’ve filled a ballroom with 500 people and we’ve hosted the event online with hundreds of people. By asking the students what they want us to talk about, we put the students in charge of their education the minute they walk through the door. Honors students learn that, at UW, we listen to them, that we build the program around their interests. At Global Challenges, they get to see what it’s like to have three people who are very accomplished in their fields, in a humble conversation about a really big topic for which there is no simple answer. That’s an example of showing the larger community what Honors is all about, what our students are all about, what our pedagogy is all about.
We are building that broader, richer sense of who we are and why we do what we do and inviting everybody. We are building something that’s for everyone.
What is the impact you’ve witnessed of interdisciplinary research?
One of the things that Honors did was create a space where I could literally teach my driving passion. In my research, I had a long-standing relationship with along with , my collaborator. Each year in Honors I’ve taught a class on poverty and houselessness. A couple of years ago, we did a deep dive with Real Change News as collaborators to bring the portrait project to campus. I gave the students the responsibility to curate the exhibit to run for three weeks and build a launch event in the Allen Library. Twenty-five students collaborated together on every aspect of bringing that exhibit to campus, they collaborated with our Real Change News colleagues who were at the core of the project. Many of the students who were involved have come back to me to talk about where that experience took them.
Students will rise to any challenge
This morning, I sat with a student applying to medical school, who was in another iteration of that same class. She talked about how doing medicine was one thing, but thinking about it through the lens of social justice, access, historical racism and how that shapes who has access to care, was transformative for her. She understood that in a deep way because she’d been part of that class. I create a class space where the students teach each other and they pick up and carry that work and take it to places that are important to them.
This last quarter I had a group of students create a zine, called , in collaboration with homeless youth in the U District. It is full of incredible art, essays, cartoons and drawings. The students did the work of assembling this art aimed at elevating the voice of homeless youth, about their ideas of what the future could look like. This was a chance for our students to collaborate with the youth and to elevate their vision, their brilliance and their ideas. I’ve come to realize working with our students that, literally, they will rise to any challenge. They will mount an art exhibit, they’ll create a zine, they will do collaborations that are deep, they will face up to the impossibly difficult questions of climate change and poverty, and houselessness.
It鈥檚 been transformative for me working with these students.
How do you see the impact of the Honors Program on the students as they graduate?
What we’re trying to do and what we’ve really committed ourselves to with Honors, is to support the students to complicate their ideas and work, and to be brave about it. So if they think they’re going to do medicine, can we work with them to think about what it means to be a doctor? What does it mean to be a doctor that cares about social justice? How do we invite students into spaces in a way that is actually enabling? That鈥檚 what Honors classes do. And the students take the work places we never thought of. I have students that worked for the , a student who’s up in Skagit County as an organic farmer, students at Harvard, students in medical school, a student working on climate change activism. They learn that they can be brilliant in any number of different ways.
We have brought together a community
What鈥檚 something that comes to the forefront that you are very proud about?
I am proud of how we’ve connected to broader communities 鈥� and gets credit here. We have worked hand in glove to bring together a community of alumni. We’ve built an advisory board that leans in and shows up. We have built financial and moral support for this program at a level that did not exist when we came in. We have an endowed . We built an endowed that’s still growing. It’s about people believing in us and people in the community really reaching in and supporting what we do. And we’ve got an incredible group of volunteers now. We just had the most successful Husky Giving Day which is less about the money and more about the fact that over 70 people thought Honors was special enough to make a gift. I feel really proud of how we’ve expanded our community with people who deeply care and want to support our students because of how they think and what they mean to the future.
What are you most excited about with the next adventure?
I’m excited about not being busy! I鈥檝e always been on a mission to be an academic and teach. I’m very curious what life has to offer if I’m not doing those things. I’m curious about what my next chapter is going to be and I don’t think I’m going to really truly know that until I stop. I am quite sure it’s going to continue to have to do with activism around impoverishment and houselessness. There are a lot of things I think about and wonder what my skills might do to make an impact. I do know that I’m going to grow a garden. I’m going to travel and I’m going to raise a horse and train it.
Any last thoughts?
I came into Honors and I realized that this is where the work is. Undergraduate education, especially at a public university, is the place that I believe you can have the most impact. Undergraduate students have infinite paths open to them. Honors has redoubled my commitment to undergraduate education as a place of praxis and place of personal and professional transformation that’s really important. The staff in Honors are just quite remarkable and they taught me every day what is possible in undergraduate education for life.
Undergraduate education is the place I believe you can have the most impact.
Stephanie Smallwood named director of Honors Program
Congratulations to Stephanie Smallwood, acclaimed professor and historian, who has been appointed the new director of the , officially beginning her term in September, 2022.
The University Honors Program, , serves as an academic core of Undergraduate Academic Affairs, bringing students and faculty from every corner of campus together for original learning opportunities focused on collaborative, cross-disciplinary curriculum, experiential learning, research and critical reflection.
In the past eight years under the direction of geography professor and poverty researcher, Victoria Lawson, the Honors Program has contributed to the deepening of its interdisciplinary focus and approach to intentional community building, innovative thinking and global citizenship. As Lawson prepares to retire from the 糖心原创, she expresses admiration for Honors鈥� incoming director, stating: 鈥淚 am a huge fan of Dr. Smallwood and I am confident she will love leading within this community, as I have.鈥�
Fostering collective and diverse brilliance
Honors by the numbers听
The UW Honors Program facilitates Interdisciplinary, College and Departmental Honors for over 1,400 undergraduates annually.
83% of Honors students come from public high schools.
100+ UW majors represented by Honors students and faculty.
70% say Interdisciplinary Honors admission is a top reason they chose the UW.
Smallwood says she鈥檚 excited by the Honors Program鈥檚 trajectory and sees great opportunities to continue expanding this interdisciplinary educational hub at our public research university. Smallwood鈥檚 vision of fostering collective and diverse brilliance aligns with the program鈥檚 long arc toward education that centers public needs and un-siloed, collaborative inquiry.
鈥淚nterdisciplinarity informs my scholarship, my mentoring, my teaching, and informs everything I do,鈥� shared Smallwood. A narrow singularly disciplinary lens cannot adequately approach the questions which animate her work, or the questions that remain most urgent and pressing to our society today.
鈥淯ndergraduate Academic Affairs is a unit devoted to changing lives of students by deepening their UW experience,鈥� shares Vice Provost and Dean Ed Taylor. 鈥淪tephanie Smallwood has the vision, knowledge and experience to move the program and experience of students into a future that is much in need of their potential to help make the world better.鈥�
Guiding students in intellectual exploration
Smallwood is an associate professor in the , where she holds the Dio Richardson Endowed professorship, and she has a joint appointment in the . She has devoted the past 15 years at the 糖心原创 to undergraduate teaching and mentorship on the histories of slavery, race and colonialism in the early modern Atlantic world. Guiding students in their exploration of the challenging problems that have profoundly shaped our world remains as fresh and rewarding for her today as when she began her career as a teacher-scholar nearly 25 years ago.
Her book 鈥溾�� (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2007) was awarded the 2008 Frederick Douglass Book Prize; the award for best book written in English on slavery or abolition by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University; and was a finalist for the 2008 First Book Prize of the Berkshire Conference of Women Historians.
“The 糖心原创 is so fortunate that Professor Stephanie Smallwood has accepted a three-year term as director of the Honors Program. Professor Smallwood is a prize-winning historian, gifted teacher and exemplary University citizen. She will bring her gifts of shrewd analysis, excellent judgment and visionary leadership to this position,鈥� shared Glennys Young, chair of the Department of History.
A history story
Smallwood鈥檚 interest in history began as an undergraduate at Columbia University, stemming from her involvement in anti-apartheid demonstrations. In 1985, on the anniversary of the assasination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Smallwood demonstrated in a domestic divestment campaign. When camping out on the steps of an administrative building for three weeks was followed by a summer of disciplinary hearings, she was led directly toward learning more about the history behind the political actions she found herself engaging in.
For the first time in her life, Smallwood began to read African history 鈥� and found herself blown away. She spent the last two years of her undergraduate studies taking graduate-level seminars. 鈥淚 knew then that history was what I wanted to do and study,鈥� said Smallwood. Under the mentorship of , she was guided towards an interdisciplinary M.A. in African and African-American studies at Yale University.
Smallwood became a research assistant to renowned historian , who was beginning to examine the 17th- and 18th-century slave trade. During days spent in the Yale library鈥檚 microfilm room, Smallwood poured over newspapers from 17th century Maryland and Virginia, reading the announcements of arrivals of slave ships. Her time there would prove to be invaluable, as she began to piece together the literal connections between African and African-American history. 鈥淚t was the first time, that past, that period, was animated for me intellectually,鈥� she said. Transcended beyond just responding to contemporary politics, she sought out to study the entire expanse of Black history. Smallwood would go on to earn her Ph.D. in early African-American history at Duke University.
鈥淚 am incredibly excited to see Professor Smallwood鈥檚 leadership and inclusionary vision applied to the Honors Program as its community continues to grow and build connections across campus. Her support and encouragement enabled us students to reach our full potential and I know she will do the same for the many students who come under her guidance as she takes on the role of director,鈥� shared Erin Nicole Kelly, senior.
The role imagination plays
The interdisciplinary impact of her studies and research have informed the lens for all of her ongoing research, leadership and publications. Smallwood recognizes that a key component of the role of a historian is to imagine. 鈥淭he fact of the matter is that historians have to imagine, to tell stories.鈥� She cites the fiction of novelist Toni Morrison as being in relationship and conversation with her historical research. 鈥淲e have to be able to use the gifts that only a Toni Morrison can bring to the table, to guide us in how to dare to imagine. You can鈥檛 ask good questions if you can鈥檛 imagine outside of the box,鈥� Smallwood said.
Smallwood connects the value of the Honors Programs to its interdisciplinary imagination. A program that curates small classes and dynamic curriculum where students experience, as she describes, 鈥渢he freedom of when you’re not already locked into a particular methodology or a set of rules that govern a particular discipline.鈥�
Her recent experiences teaching the classes, Honors Historical Method and Race and Slavery Across the Americas, have served Smallwood as continued affirmations of what鈥檚 possible in intimate learning environments. 鈥淜nowledge production happens best when we put different disciplinary methods in relationship to one another,鈥� she shared. 鈥淥ften our best and most innovative learning happens in collaboration.鈥�
Our best learning happens in collaboration
Smallwood remains continually fueled and reinvigorated as an educational collaborator and mentor. Facilitating class experiences for undergraduates to engage in intellectual discovery and risk taking, Smallwood is focused on new approaches to learning that can meaningfully advance a social justice mission.
Smallwood sees her appointment as director of the Honors Program as an honor within itself. She intends to use her skills and background of scholarship and teaching in a public research university to serve students and boost their capacity to imagine, contribute and make change. 鈥淭o be at a public research institution like the UW means you鈥檙e in a community of extraordinary scholars with extraordinary resources,鈥� said Smallwood. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the best possible combination of what it takes to be a scholar and for the largest impact you can have on reaching and touching people.鈥�
Welcome, Stephanie Smallwood!
Celebrating the 2020鈥�21 Undergraduate Medalists
From the thousands of undergraduate students at the 糖心原创, three are selected each year for the prestigious President鈥檚 Medalist Award.
Piper Coyner, Olivia Brandon and Catherine Chia are the medalists for 2020鈥�21, selected by a committee for their high GPAs, rigor of classes and numbers of Honors courses. All three are students in the University , completing the Interdisciplinary Honors track.
Each medalist has carved a unique path at the UW, but they鈥檙e united in their passion for their chosen areas of study, ranging from neuroscience to anthropology to film studies. They鈥檙e also dedicated to giving back to the community, in both their extracurricular activities and their post-graduation career plans.
The students will be recognized by University President Ana Mari Cauce and Provost Mark Richards at a special reception, where each recipient will receive their medal in front of family, friends and mentors.
Read on to learn how these exceptional students embody the Husky Spirit.
Piper Coyner, junior medalist
Majors: Near Eastern studies鈥搇anguages and cultures; cinema and media studies
Hometown: Olalla, WA
The moment Piper Coyner learned that the UW had a Near Eastern studies major, she knew she wanted to become a Husky. Since childhood, her dream had been to study the Middle East 鈥� and she was thrilled she could do it so close to home.
At the UW, Coyner has been able to dive into many aspects of Middle Eastern culture, history and language, studying Persian and Arabic. She has also discovered a second major in cinema and media studies, thanks to her involvement with the UW Film Club, where she leads a team of 20 writers. When she鈥檚 not exploring a canon of classic films or writing reviews, she鈥檚 an avid reader who enjoys contemporary fiction and history.
Whether focused on the screen or the pages of a book, Coyner takes inspiration from 鈥渟tories of perseverance and self-sacrifice, of people caring deeply for others and making change in the world.鈥� It鈥檚 with this model of making a difference that she hopes to attend law school after graduation.
For Coyner, who was also recognized in 2020 as a freshman medalist, this award is an important validation of her passion for and pursuit of the humanities.
鈥淚 often compare myself unfavorably to those in STEM and buy into the narrative that my work is not as important,鈥� Coyner says. 鈥淭his award shows me that鈥檚 not true 鈥� that students who study arts, cultures and languages are just as valued.鈥�
Olivia Brandon, sophomore medalist
Majors: Neuroscience and public health鈥揼lobal health
Hometown: Seattle, WA
Olivia Brandon became fascinated with the study of human physiology during an introductory survey class 鈥� and that has shaped her UW journey.
Realizing her true passion, she packed her schedule with chemistry, biology and global health classes. She landed on neuroscience after learning about brain pathology as a research assistant in UW Medicine鈥檚 Neonatal Neuroscience Lab.
In her research role, Brandon works closely with UW faculty to help develop treatments for babies at risk for encephalopathy. 鈥淏eing able to ask a scientific and medical question, create the database, extract the necessary variables, analyze the data and convey the information has sparked the scientist in me,鈥� she says. Later this spring at the 2022 Pediatric Academic Societies medical conference, she plans to present a research project she spearheaded.
Inspired by her lab mentors and her physician parents, Brandon plans to attend medical school after graduation.
鈥淚 hope to become a physician who has an impact on improving people鈥檚 health, but I also want to be an advocate for improving equity in global and public health systems,鈥� says Brandon, who is also majoring in public health鈥揼lobal health. During her first year at the UW, Brandon gave a TedX talk about the importance of addressing global issues like climate change.
As an animal lover, Brandon is also president of the UW equestrian team and has raised funds and volunteered for an equine rescue and rehabilitation center.
Catherine Chia, freshman medalist
Hometown: Redmond, WA
Majors: Biochemistry, neuroscience and anthropology
Catherine Chia got a firsthand look at the UW鈥檚 Seattle campus 鈥� and its many opportunities 鈥� when her older brother became a Husky. That glimpse helped shape her decision to attend the UW.
With a goal of attending medical school, she found herself naturally drawn to studying biochemistry and neuroscience.
鈥淚 love the mechanistic nature of both subjects, where I can learn to look for sources of a disease from the tiniest mechanisms of the body,鈥� explains Chia, who is balancing her two science majors with anthropology. That subject serves as 鈥渁n important reminder that innovation and development should always be aimed at helping others.鈥�
Outside the classroom, she鈥檚 an undergraduate research assistant in Prof. Jonathan Posner鈥檚 lab, which is developing a diagnostic test for hepatitis C. The supportive community of the lab has built Chia鈥檚 confidence as a scientist and made her feel more at home at the UW.
Chia鈥檚 volunteer work includes helping elementary school students develop reading skills, leading summertime science activities at the Pacific Science Center and mentoring her fellow students in the UW Honors Program. As a future physician, Chia hopes to improve people鈥檚 lives in a holistic way. She鈥檚 passionate about rectifying education disparities and plans to continue volunteering in learning spaces.
鈥淩eceiving this honor is not just for me,鈥� Chia says, 鈥渂ut also for everyone who has been there for me along the way.鈥�
15 Seconds at a Time: The Resilience Lab [video]
In this video, UW Resilience Lab Director Megan Kennedy takes on the challenge of explaining the Resilience Lab in less than 15 seconds at a time.
Connecting, belonging, being well: Across UAA, programs welcome back students
The pack is back! For the first time since the transition to mostly virtual learning in March 2020, Huskies are crossing Red Square on their way to class. These Dawgs include two classes who are completely new to campus: incoming first-year students and second-year students, in addition to upperclassmen who鈥檝e spent more than 18 months away from campus.
Student well-being is top of mind as programs across Undergraduate Academic Affairs are welcoming back our students. This work involves building community so students feel connected and a sense of belonging. It鈥檚 recognizing and addressing the increased stresses students may be experiencing as a result of the pandemic and the transition back to in-person learning. It鈥檚 programs incorporating resilience and mindfulness work to give students the tools to care for their mental health. It鈥檚 the dedication to meeting students where they are at. Programs are also maintaining some virtual programmatic offerings this year to increase students鈥� access to services. Read on to learn more about how programs throughout Undergraduate Academic Affairs are orienting and supporting students this autumn.
Academic Support Programs: An academic home away from home
Academic Support Programs are free and available for all students. See the CLUE tutoring schedule, , online academic resources, and schedule a meeting with an academic success coach .
Academic Support Programs runs CLUE, the largest late night, multidisciplinary tutoring center at the UW, and Academic Success Coaching, individualized meetings with a peer coach to develop skills for academic success.This year they are expanding these programs to reach more students in new and innovative ways.
CLUE: Tutoring center creates a sense of community
When Academic Support Programs Director Ryan Burt asked this year鈥檚 CLUE tutors why they were interested in becoming tutors, many shared that last year鈥檚 virtual CLUE was a space where they came to be together to navigate all that was happening around them. CLUE remains focused on creating a similar sense of community to the tutoring space for the 2021-22 school year. Student tutors play a big role in setting a welcoming tone, which starts with their own self-reflection.
In the autumn quarter training class Burt co-teaches with CLUE Program Manager Lizzy Harman, tutors check in about their own experiences returning to campus. They talk about how to navigate social and emotional challenges that they and other students might be experiencing. They focus on language and strategies to develop resilience and a growth mindset, both for themselves and the students they tutor. This emphasis on their mental state is intentional. When people are in a stressed state, it can be hard to focus on one鈥檚 studies or work. These weekly class sessions happen right before CLUE opens, preparing tutors to take a holistic approach to their work. This allows them to create a calm, safe and supportive space and helps them guide students to stay motivated as challenges or setbacks arise.
This year, CLUE is offering tutoring both in-person and virtually. Both spaces are busy; tutors quickly switch between leading tutoring tables in the Mary Gates Hall Commons and leading online sessions. This hybrid approach increases students鈥� access to tutoring: Some students don鈥檛 want or are unable to stay on campus late, live too far away from campus to come back for evening tutoring, or want to limit exposure to others.
Academic Success Coaching: Setting goals and making plans to reach them
Academic Success Coaching Manager Alli Bothello oversaw the expansion of the Academic Success Coaching program, expanding from eight coaches last year to 14 coaches this year. Coaching sessions are open-ended and guided by what is on the student鈥檚 mind. Conversations can range from time management and study strategies to concern over disappointing test results 鈥� 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 do well on my first test; now I鈥檒l never get into my major鈥︹�� to topics beyond academics. The coaches work with each student to guide them through these experiences, with a goal of helping students find resources, develop ways to move forward from setbacks and set and reach their goals. Coaches are available to meet at whatever frequency the student needs, be it weekly, quarterly or as needs arise. They are also hosting workshops on developing effective study strategies, time management, self-care and building a community, and finals exam prep.
Academic Support Programs are free and available for all students. See the CLUE tutoring schedule, upcoming study skills workshops, online academic resources, and schedule a meeting with an academic success coach on their website.
First Year Programs: Building community and wayfinding through the UW
Cornerstones of First Year Programs鈥� (FYP) work are helping students learn about campus resources, build their community and understand how to navigate the UW. This work is rooted in the knowledge that students who feel connected to campus socially and academically are more likely to persist through college and earn their degree.
First-year networks: Connecting Huskies with similar lived experiences and interests
First-year networks are social groups run by peer leaders. The 14 networks鈥� themes range from shared interests, including mindful-living, foodies, to shared identities, such as East Asian and transfer students. Students are connected through a Discord (a group chatting platform), and are invited to various events and meetups, learn about academic support programs and most importantly meet a group of students with similar interests and shared identities, helping them establish a community at the UW. FYP surveyed students as they signed up for networks: 93% registered to make friends and 90% are seeking connections to students with shared interests.
First-year interest groups keep well-being at the forefront of their work
Mindfulness and self-care is incorporated into each General Studies 199 class meeting, taught by First-year Interest Group Leaders. The goals of this are to help students understand mindfulness and its benefits. They explore mindfulness activities like journaling, meditation, 3-minute dance parties and breathing exercises.
Each FIG Leader brings in a peer health educator to lead a seminar on one of four topics: mental health, coping with clouds, Sleepy Husky or physical health. The peer educators explore the science of the given topic and discuss how it connects to physical, mental and emotional health. One past participant commented, 鈥淭he mental health seminar project was important to me since the pandemic has taken a toll on me when it comes to being motivated and isolated.鈥� There is also great power in hearing peers talk about similar experiences, with another participant sharing, 鈥淏eing able to have guest speakers talk about research, mental health and admissions was extremely valuable because it gave me more understanding for how the areas work. I don’t feel alone in the process of college.鈥�
First Year Programs also has 听
Honors: Introducing a student-led mentorship program
The Honors Program鈥檚 new wellness-oriented program is student-led. Shannon Hong, a junior majoring in neuroscience, first experienced peer mentoring through the student-led . Finding it valuable, she approached Honors to start a similar program for them. The , launched this fall, creates a network of support within the Honors Program. Volunteer mentors are connected with mentees and focus to help them navigate the Honors requirements and their general Husky experience. 鈥淢y peers and I initially created the Honors Peer Mentoring Program to help students feel more supported and engaged in the Honors community,鈥� explains Hong. 鈥淏ut since then, it has grown into something bigger 鈥� a program that empowers students to become leaders and take initiative in their UW Honors experience.鈥� These mentoring relationships are available throughout the entire year.
Applications for the Honors Peer Mentoring Program winter cohort will open on January 3, 2022. to learn more.
Office of Educational Assessment: Surveying students to best meet their needs
The Office of Educational Assessment is launching Husky Check-in surveys this year. Designed to gauge student needs in real time, these twice-a-quarter surveys will focus on timely issues related to the student experience. The first survey explored how students are accessing support services, their preferences for virtual versus in-person offerings, whether where they live impacts their preference and what additional unmet needs may exist. The research team will share the results with key stakeholders across campus who can use the feedback to adapt programs to match the needs of students. The first survey launched the week of October 11, 2021; approximately 1,300 undergraduate and 400 graduate students participated.
Resilience Lab: Working towards a campus culture of compassion and mindfulness
Learn about upcoming and request copies of the .
The Resilience Lab鈥檚 work centers on promoting well-being among students, faculty and staff at the 糖心原创. Their Be REAL (REsilient Attitudes and Living), a program developed in collaboration with the Center for Child and Family Well-Being, has equipped more than 100 faculty and staff members with skills and tools to foster their own wellness and that of their colleagues and students. Be REAL participants learn mindfulness skills to manage stressful emotions, strengthen self-awareness and to foster community well-being and mental health. Because of that ripple effect, Be REAL reaches people far beyond those who signed up for the 6-week course. And the reach of this work will continue to deepen. For example, some alumni of Be REAL choose to participate in a community of practice where they can ask questions and brainstorm ways to bring these ideas into their work. 鈥淚t鈥檚 really powerful to do this with colleagues,” explains Sasha Duttchoudhury, Resilience Lab graduate student assistant. 鈥淒oing this on 鈥榳ork time鈥� shows value, that the UW values our well-being.鈥�
The Be REAL faculty and staff program grew out of the student Be REAL course. The current format allows for flexibility, allowing it to be a stand-alone class or taught as part of other programs. Be REAL is also offered as a one-quarter class for students. Be REAL recently created a .
Another way the Resilience Lab is bringing well-being practices to the campus community is through the 鈥淲ell-being for Life and Learning鈥� initiative. Students, staff and faculty collaborated on this work to create a vision for the classroom as a cornerstone of well-being. The resulting guidebook is organized into four main pillars: teaching for equity and access; nurturing connections; building coping and resilience skills; and connecting to the environment. The guidebook鈥檚 appeal is wide: with programs from STEM to social sciences ordering copies.
President Cauce talks about the benefits of Be REAL in her annual address:
UW News recently ran a story about the Resilience Lab鈥檚 work, including an interview with director Megan Kennedy. Read the article here.
Robinson Center: Intentionally bringing students to campus and creating community
Preparing Transition School students to come to campus for the first time began in spring 2021. Transition School principal Lisa Scott recognized that for this group 鈥� students who spend what would be their ninth grade year preparing to fully matriculate into the UW the following year 鈥� knowing their way around campus and building a community was crucial to their emotional and physical well-being. Scott developed a plan to safely bring these students to campus in May 2021. They spent the day completing a campus-wide scavenger hunt and acclimating to the campus environment. 鈥淢any parents have told me that the May Activity Day was the highlight of their student鈥檚 year,鈥� shared Scott. This group of students returned to the UW campus as first year Early Entrance Program students in autumn 2021.
To prepare Robinson Center students for the 2021-22 school year, the Robinson Center held orientations for the Early Entrance, UW Academy and Transition School students. Though each orientation was fine-tuned to meet the groups鈥� specific needs, common threads included building community, exploring campus and learning about campus resources.
Learn more about the .
Students are typically two to three years younger than most of their college peers, and student well-being programs remain a priority throughout the year. Students continue to meet with mentors and attend seminar classes on topics including majors and resources. The Robinson Center serves as a mini-HUB with places to relax, study, hangout with friends and eat outside.
When touring the space recently, an engineering colleague commented, 鈥淵ou can feel the community in this space.鈥�
Student-Athlete Academic Services: Keeping the pulse on student-athlete well-being
(SAAS) has been checking on the well-being of the UW鈥檚 650 student-athletes throughout the pandemic through their regular pulse surveys. These 10-question surveys asked about what鈥檚 going well to what鈥檚 been most challenging. SAAS adjusted their programs and outreach based on the feedback they received.
Throughout the pandemic, the SAAS team also discovered new ways of serving their students: virtual counseling and virtual tutoring. Pre-pandemic, these services were exclusively offered in person. Yet the effectiveness of these online programs means the SAAS team will carry them forward. For athletes who travel to meets, games and competitions, being able to continue to access tutoring and counseling uninterrupted is hugely beneficial.
Join the team and make your own wellness commitment with this printable. Print it, write your commitment on it and post it somewhere visible to you to continue to encourage yourself.
The SAAS team saw both first- and second- year students join their orientation. This year鈥檚 focus was building community 鈥� community within the 22 teams, within the student-athlete community and the broader UW community. Activities included a campus-wide scavenger hunt to find campus resources and a barbeque with coaches and staff from around campus to help students connect to the UW鈥檚 services. They also participated in the NCAA鈥檚 Mental Health Awareness Week. Students particularly embraced the wellness wall, where they anonymously wrote a commitment to personal wellness they are committing to for the 2021-22 year. Mental health services, team doctors and nutrition advising supports continue year round. In addition, SAAS provides advising, tutoring, career development, internships and academic coaching year round to best support our Husky student-athletes.
Undergraduate Research Program: Introducing undergrads to the what, why and how of research
The Undergraduate Research Program is building community within their 43 undergraduate research leaders (URLs) 鈥� student volunteers who help their peers get involved with research. Last year, the URLs spoke to more than 1,500 students about these opportunities. This work included a two-day orientation, which took a holistic approach to leadership development, with lots of time for reflection and conversation. There was an emphasis on empathy to help students slow down, reflect on the experiences of one another and and find commonalities with their own experiences. Mindfulness practices like deep breathing and other grounding exercises were included to help students center themselves.
Another key component of orientation was a diversity, equity and inclusion training on inclusivity and bias. The URLs learned about the experiences and potential barriers encountered by students from groups ranging from BIPOC students to first-gen to neurodiverse students to transfer students. Students then reflected on how this awareness will change their mindset in their work as a URL, explaining, 鈥淥ur role is not just to promote research, and generally mentor undergrads entering research, but to help others to overcome the barriers that they may be facing in even entering a lab in the first place.鈥�
The URLs are proactively thinking about ways to continue to support their peers and are pitching ideas 鈥� unprompted 鈥� to URP鈥檚 leadership team. We鈥檒l share info about these new initiatives on our social media channels as they are launched.
In addition to their URL program, the Undergraduate Research Program expanded their advising offerings to include weekly virtual advising, in-person group advising and individual drop-in advising appointments. These sessions often focus on learning how to get involved with research and answer questions like, 鈥淚鈥檓 a first-year student. Is research for me?鈥� (Answer: Yes!) Through the continued support, students grow their confidence and resilience as they navigate finding a research team and ultimately begin their research experiences.
Get involved with undergraduate research. Check the Undergraduate Research Program website for upcoming advising sessions, search for research opportunities and more.
Welcome to campus, we belong together
We belong together. I made that statement at this year鈥檚 , an annual event filled with academic flourishes to mark the beginning of a student鈥檚 university journey. This year鈥檚 event was decidedly different and intentionally formatted for public safety. We are still trying to emerge from a pandemic, after all, so this year鈥檚 event was under a tent with new students only. I hope their families and loved ones were watching the livestream so they could share the moment. These times are still not yet 鈥渘ormal鈥� and require all of us to continue to adjust our sails.
But we belong together. The 糖心原创鈥檚 leaders made that important declaration when we determined that we could bring our campus community back together safely with public health protocols and expectations for caring for our common good in place. I am encouraged about the year ahead.
In Undergraduate Academic Affairs, much of our work is centered around creating a sense of belonging among students. To that end, we come together to serve every student, no matter how they got here. From finding common ground through Advising & Orientation to developing and leading co-curricular experiences so undergraduates can access a truly transformational education alongside their peers, faculty and staff. Connecting, finding belonging amidst the many opportunities at the UW is foundational for undergraduates.
Together, and only together, can we create the kinds of classrooms, community-based opportunities, research spaces and campus that will enable deep learning for all our students. Together, we support students from the time they are admitted through graduation. Today鈥檚 undergraduates are tomorrow鈥檚 teachers, business people, civic leaders, doctors, nurses, scientists, artists. 鲍础础鈥檚 reach across campus and into research spaces and the community is an intentional move toward connecting students to the big issues that are affecting people and the people who are working on solutions to these issues. In this way we take steps toward a future that is equitable and just, healthy and whole, innovative and informed. This work can only be done together.
Welcome to campus. We belong together, and together, we are strong, healthy, brave and boundless.
Q&A for UW/Seattle Colleges partnership
Overview
The 糖心原创 is excited to build upon the success of to connect students to a baccalaureate degree at the UW. Historically, transfer students have had success at the UW, but there are still barriers. Prospective students need better information about options for majors and how to prepare for them. Newly admitted transfer students often need up-front academic support in order to transition to a research university. Investment in this partnership will provide information and support to ensure that Seattle Promise students can reach their academic goals.
A Seattle Promise student鈥檚 journey with this partnership
Year one of the student鈥檚 journey
Q. Who is eligible to participate in this opportunity?
Seattle Promise students who have completed their first year at Seattle Colleges.
Q. What happens in the first year of the partnership program?
Year one of the partnership program is designed to help students understand what academics at the UW are like, to support their academic planning and career preparation, and to introduce them to opportunities that are unique to a research university. It helps them learn how to take advantage of the supports that exist at different institutions so they can have a successful transfer experience.
Details:
Academic preparation
From late-August to mid-September, Seattle Promise students who have completed their first year at a Seattle College take a three-week course focused on a subject that relates to what they are interested in majoring in.
- Course is taught by a UW faculty member.
- Student will earn credit that will apply to their Seattle College AA degree.
Major and career exploration
The UW is proud to offer more than 180 undergraduate majors and recognizes that some are better known than others. Part of our goal with this partnership is to support students鈥� exploration of majors that are both well-known and those that tend to fly under the radar but would still support students鈥� academic and career goals. To that end, this partnership will support students鈥�:
- Academic planning for multiple majors.
- Mapping academic and experiential learning opportunities to their career interests.
Research university opportunities
As one of the country鈥檚 leading research universities, we are excited to ensure Seattle Promise students are aware of the benefits and opportunities that exist at the UW. Students who earn their bachelor’s degree from a different institution still benefit from a deeper understanding of how a research university in their backyard connects to their lives.
Year two of a student鈥檚 journey
Q. Who is eligible to participate in the second year of this partnership?
Seattle Promise students who have been admitted to the UW for autumn quarter. Some, but not necessarily all, will have participated in the first year of the program.
Q. What happens in the second year of the partnership program?
Year two of the partnership program will delve into preparing specifically for entering the UW鈥檚 Seattle campus.
Details:
Academic preparation
From late-August to mid-September, Seattle Promise students admitted to the UW for autumn quarter take an intensive, four-week course focused on writing and research.
- Course is taught by a UW faculty member.
- Students will learn about academic resources such as libraries, writing centers, tutoring centers.
Grounding and belonging
Research tells us that students who feel grounded and find a sense of belonging are more likely to persist through college and earn their degree. The unique circumstances and lived experiences of transfer students, coupled with their shorter time on campus can make it more difficult for them to find those points of connection and community. Year two of this partnership aims to lessen those difficulties in these ways:
- Develop a cohort of Seattle Promise students who are new to the UW
- Build community among other new transfer students
- Connect this cohort with current UW students who have already experienced what it鈥檚 like to transfer to the UW
- Orient Seattle Promise transfer students to campus resources and opportunities before the beginning of autumn quarter
Operational details
Q. How many students will this partnership support?
We鈥檒l know how many students we will be able to support once all the details of the funding are known. That said, and while it depends on the final funding, we鈥檙e hopeful that we鈥檇 be able to serve 100 Seattle Promise students to start.
Q. How will this partnership be staffed?
A UW adviser will be dedicated to this partnership and will work closely with Seattle Colleges and Seattle Promise students on admissions requirements, exploring majors and being academically prepared. Additionally, this adviser will be able to show how academics at Seattle Colleges specifically map to different majors at the UW and they鈥檒l be able to connect students with financial aid and other student resources for Seattle Promise students who transfer to the UW.
Q. What kind of financial aid is available to students to participate in the program?听
The programs will be free for Seattle Promise students 鈥� all course costs will be covered by this investment in the partnership. Seattle Promise students who are admitted to the UW as transfer students will be eligible for financial aid. Many of the current Seattle Promise students who are from low-income backgrounds will be eligible for the Husky Promise (which covers tuition and standard fees at the UW).
Q. What does the program cost to students? Will students have to pay tuition for the three- and four-week courses?
There is no charge to Seattle Promise students to participate in this program or the three- and four-week programs.
Q. What happens after 2023, when the federal funding runs out? Will the program continue?
While we don鈥檛 want to speculate about funding sources after 2023, we know that the UW鈥檚 commitment to continuing to build upon and improve partnerships to benefit transfer students will remain strong.
Q. Where can students learn more about and sign up for this program?
We鈥檙e glad you鈥檙e interested! We are working out those details with our partners at the Seattle Colleges. Please stay tuned and check back.
Q. Does this guarantee admission to the UW for Seattle Promise students?
This partnership does not guarantee UW admission for Seattle Promise students. We do anticipate that students who participate in the program beginning after their first year in a Seattle College will be well-positioned to be admitted.
Q. For participating students admitted to the UW, does this guarantee admission into the major of their choice?
This partnership does not guarantee admission into particular majors for Seattle Promise students. We do anticipate that students who participate in the program will be well-informed about their major options.
For more information about this partnership, please contact Michaelann Jundt, associate dean, Undergraduate Academic Affairs.
UW Junior Sophia Carey named Beinecke scholar听
糖心原创 junior Sophia Carey was recently selected for the Beinecke scholarship! Carey, who is majoring in English and comparative history of ideas and minoring in theatre studies, was selected from 95 applicants to join this year鈥檚 class. Each year the offers 20 scholarships to undergraduates who intend to pursue a master鈥檚 or doctoral program in the arts, humanities or social sciences. The selected students receive $30,000 to be used for graduate study and $4,000 in their senior year. The last time a UW student received this award was 2011.听
Carey entered the UW through the Early Entrance Program at the and has since focused her interdisciplinary studies in the arts, humanities and social sciences into a passion for community-based theater and the intersections between public policy and the performing arts. She is also in the .
Research and leadership experiences have been hallmarks of her time as a UW student. Her past research includes the paper 鈥淧erforming Beyond Utopia,鈥� which explored how residents of Lima, Peru, in the 1970s used community-based theater to resist and transcend dictatorial state agendas. Outside of performance studies, Sophia鈥檚 research has been featured in an open glossary of law, society and justice terms, and in 2019, she won the UW Library Research Award for Undergraduates for her paper investigating barriers to Latin American youths鈥� access to educational support services.听
Sophia is currently the president of the Early Entrance Drama Society, a student-run drama club at the UW. In almost three years of involvement in the club, she has co-facilitated the translation of a 2020 production into a virtual format, performed in and directed several productions, and hosted drama-related events designed to build community and provide performance opportunities for students interested in arts and arts leadership. In addition to her work with the Early Entrance Drama Society, Sophia has acquired significant experience with local nonprofit and community-directed theater, as a directing intern at Stone Soup Theater, a development assistant at ArtsWest, and currently as a volunteer at the Seattle Rep.听
She plans to continue studying the potential for community-based theater to bring about material and political change through graduate research in a Ph.D. or MFA program that combines practical approaches and critical scholarly research methods in the study of theater.
About the Beinecke听
The Beinecke Scholarship program is open to juniors in studying the arts, humanities and social sciences. The scholarship provides funding for students to pursue a masters听 or Ph.D. in these fields. Since 1975 the program has selected more than from more than 110 different undergraduate institutions for support during graduate study at any accredited university.
About the Office of Merit Scholarships, Fellowships and Awards听
The Beinecke application process is supported by the (OMSFA), a UAA program. OMSFA works with faculty, staff and students to identify and support promising students in developing the skills and personal insights necessary to become strong candidates for this and other prestigious awards.