(The Verge) – A requirement for all freshmen at Monmouth is to take a first year seminar class. I selected Hollywood Journalism and I couldn’t have been more excited for the class after taking Journalism senior year in high school.
I logged onto WebAdvisor a few weeks after orientation to find the books I was required to purchase for my classes. To my surprise, I was required to purchase a College Experience book for my Hollywood Journalism class. Thoughts raced through my head. “Would this really be like freshman year of high school?” “Would there be trust falls involved in class?” My thoughts brought back memories of my high school freshman seminar. We were required to read the Seven Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey and I remember fearing the day when we had to do trust falls with people who I barely knew, or for that matter, people I barely trusted.
While trust falls have not been the essence of my class, and my Honors freshmen peers have not told me anything different with their freshman seminar classes, we seem to have come to a conclusion.
The discussions of the college experience are becoming mundane. As Honors students, we agree we have heard these discussions far more than necessary. For me, I wish we could spend more time on the Hollywood Journalism aspect of class. So, here’s my advocacy call–I believe it is time for there to be an Honors freshman seminar class or perhaps a Cultural Engagement class that counts as credit for freshman seminar; or just the college experience part of the class.
However, I must say I adore my PLA and I have gained quality advice about Monmouth through her discussions. Like I said in my last post, many of the upperclassmen at Monmouth are just remarkable. Their experiences are like no other and they are great mentors.
While I know change does not happen over night, I hope that first year seminars can be changed in the coming years for Honors students. As for now, I will continue embracing my Hollywood Journalism first year seminar class:
‘Flash, flash’ go the paparazzi cameras…
