Participants past and present of Arts & Science’s First-Year Learning Communities (FLC) program gathered on November 18 to celebrate 10 years of supporting undergraduate students in their academic, professional and social development.
“In any given year, FLC creates small communities within the larger U of T community, but we have not before recognized the larger FLC community that has been created over the past 10 years. It was important for us to bring together this larger community and celebrate it,” said first-year initiatives coordinator Adam Doyle.
Since 2005, FLC has been guiding first-year students in making the transition to university. One of those students is Mary Ma, who joined the Rotman Commerce group when she came to U of T in 2014. “I had trouble with economics; I bombed my first test. I was so scared. I didn’t know how to tackle the subject,” said Ma. “My assistant peer mentor gave me a lot of tips on how to study economics and prepare for exams.”
Currently, 750 students are enrolled in 32 groups throughout the Faculty of Arts & Science including the life sciences, economics, computer science and philosophy.
“Everybody in my group was geared toward the health field. We motivated each other to do well — and we did. In fact, most of the students went on to careers in health,” said Marissa Lee, past mentee in the life sciences program.
“My mentor mentioned the research opportunities program,” said Julie Jo explaining how FLC exposed her to academic resources. “I ended up applying to the program and worked as a research assistant for two years. That experience enabled me to work for different professors and that’s how I was able to enroll successfully in my master’s program.”
At the reunion, FLC founder Corey Goldman highlighted the program’s greatest strength outside of academic support: people making best friends.
Developing a small close-knit group of friends is especially important for commuter students. “FLCs help enrich your undergrad life because you’re no longer just going to class,” said Susan Truong, who participated as a mentee in 2006. “It helps you make lifelong friends.”
Although the program was designed to enhance the university experience for first-year students, mentees are able to pay it forward if they choose to become assistant peer mentors or peer mentors.
“Many peer mentors say it’s the single best experience they’ve had at the university, period,” said Goldman.
“One of my most memorable moments was as a mentor for FLC,” said Rida Anmol. “I remember that my mentees thought Con Hall was so intimidating. I decided we would do a scavenger hunt, and, after we played, they felt they owned the space. They could walk in and feel comfortable. Once they were comfortable, they felt confident and didn’t feel intimidated by the structure and grandeur of the space.”
“Having a group like this is so unique,” adds past mentor Angela Chen. “They often don’t remember what a mentor said, but they remember how mentors made them feel. It’s that feeling we want to foster.”