It was amazing to have Dean Karla Carney-Hall join us in the studio to talk about the growth value that comes as students encounter challenges on campus, and the supports provided to make sure that challenges don't become overwhelming and detract from students' curricular goals and aspirations. Dean Greder shared another musical selection and then we closed out the show discussing campus bike culture and the ways that parents might gently ask about and nudge academically purposeful engagement as students close out the first third of the semester.  We hope you enjoy the show and tune in again next week!

We invited Byron S. Tucci Professor of Hispanic Studies Carolyn Nadeau into the studio to talk about the rigorous classroom dynamics at IWU and the ways that students can be successful in their course work and in cultivating their relationships with faculty.  As a Kemp Honoree for Teaching Excellence, the highest award bestowed upon faculty at IWU, Carolyn is intimately familiar with the promise and potential of IWU students, and the way that engaged students can make the most of their learning expeirences.  It was wonderful to unpack some of these issues and walk away with a better understanding of strategies stduents might employ at IWU.  We also talked a bit about roommate relationships and getting support in the face of conflict or differing life patterns.  As always, it was a fast hour, but we hope you enjoy it as much as we did!  Tune back in next week for more!

Jack, Darcy and I had a great time processing the week's activities on campus and those upcoming, as well as talking with Lauren Ajacks who serves as the President of College Panhellenic Council, or the coordinating body of IWU's social sororities.  Lauren shared her perceptions of the system, along with priorities and possibilities and the ways that students select into fraternity or sorority membership through a mutual process.  We also talked about the many other ways that students establish and develop lasting communities of peers to serve their needs on campus and through their whole lives.  We hope you enjoy this episode as much as we enjoyed creating it. 

We had a blast talking with Dr. Annorah Moorman, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of the IWU Counseling and Consultation Services.  Matthew and Jack engaged Annorah in a wide-ranging conversation about the multiple layers of transition that students are experiencing, and the ways that they can engage existing coping strategies and employ additional methods to gain capacity, buffer stress and exhibit resilience. Annorah provides a realistic approach grounded in a depth of clinical knowledge and experience with generations of students that simply can't be matched, and we were incredibly grateful for her thoughts, perspectives and advice.  The second half of the show was more a discussion of the ways that students had the potential for relatively quick feedback about their performance in some classes and a more distributed pace of assigments and their return in others.  Jack shared some of his perspectives as a student, and Matthew talked about the importance of surriounding oneself with the right people and the right influences, a concept referred to as "right-minded peers" that has a powerful potential to help students achieve their best outcomes. Through it all, Darcy L Greder provided significant contributions to the conversation, and her own observations having worked with students, and students in distress, through many years. We hope you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed yakking!  Have a great long weekend, and see you next Wednesday for episode 3.

We are so pleased to be uploading this first episode of Season 6 of the First Year Frequency. In episode 1 we enjoyed hosting Colin Stewart, the Director of Student Activities and Leadership Programs joining us in the studio to talk about involvement, the Registered Student Organization fair, and these first transitional days of the semester.  It's going to be a great season, and future episodes should be posted within a day of live broadcast. 

Join us tonight at 6 PM for Episode 2 where we discuss the emotional and psychological transtion that students are experiencing with Dr. Annorah Moorman, Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Counseling and Consultation Services.