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WJC Sophomores Building Habitat House
William Jewell’s first-year and orientation initiatives have been recognized nationally and continue to be highly successful at assisting new students with their transition to college, preparing them for the academic rigor and social integration that occurs within the campus community during the first year. In initiating the Sophomore Year Experience, the intent is to extend those same principles in a comprehensive and integrated way to facilitate students’ transition from the first year to the sophomore year.
The Sophomore-Year Experience focuses on two institutional imperatives related to sophomore level students. First, it will immerse students in an active and directed program of service to the larger community, which is one of the key elements of the college’s mission. As part of the Sophomore Year Experience, sophomore students will construct a Habitat for Humanity House for a Liberty family from the ground up. The partnership between William Jewell College and Habitat For Humanity Northland will provide housing for families in need while also providing William Jewell students with the opportunity to serve their community and their world in a significant and meaningful ways.
A second emphasis of the program will focus on the specific developmental needs of sophomore students, whom studies show often experience some measure of disorientation during the second year of college. Research indicates that sophomore students often describe a kind of lull and have expressed a sense of feeling lost during this particular year of college. Sophomores can end up searching socially and academically for direction, and may feel that they lack a needed support system for this unique stage in the collegiate maturation process. The result can be difficulties in committing to a discipline of study.
To better assist the developmental needs of sophomore students, William Jewell is developing new programs and services targeted at students during their second year of college. These services include the designation of a college staff member to work specifically for and with sophomores. The college will be providing additional advising opportunities for sophomores, in addition to more focused opportunities for interaction between students and faculty.
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