New residential community to help exploratory freshmen

Exploratory freshmen can now narrow their options for majors within a living community.

Located in the Harding building of Wright Quad, the new “Choose Your Major” thematic community was put in place this year to help students explore their options at IU, said Diana Jacobs, director of academic initiatives and services.

She said with more than 180 different majors at IU, students might be overwhelmed and not know all the options available. Through various activities, students narrow down the majors they are interested in.

Jacobs said this community provides support and guidance about the decisions students need to make for their major. She said students will also be able to help and support each other through the process.

“Rather than having to find your major on your own, students can work with someone and really plan out what they want,” she said.

Students narrow down their interests by participating in numerous programs designed specifically for their benefit, said Tom Kenyon, coordinator for exploratory student resources.

“The programs are the most important part of the community,” Kenyon said.
The programs are run by two students who were exploratory their freshman year, Kenyon said.

Junior Amanda Steinken and sophomore Sydney Weaver help students in the community by breaking down the decision processes step-by-step, he said.

Students are given a basic assignment every week that will hopefully lead to the ultimate goal of choosing a major, Kenyon said.

“Our goal is to have them make a confident decision by the end of their freshman year,” he said.

Another benefit from the community, Jacobs said, is the supportive environment that helps students take advantage of all their resources. She said this will help them make goals not only about their major, but about their career path as well.

Students can find it frustrating when they think they are the only ones who do not know what they want to do, Kenyon said. This community puts students in a group where everyone is unsure about what they want to do, which can help them, he said.

There are a lot of communities that focus on specific subjects students are interested in, Sonya Stephens, vice provost for undergraduate education, said. This community is for the students who don’t know what they are interested in, she said.

Stephens said this community brings together all the exciting opportunities IU offers and lays them out right in front of the students. The community is doing great, Stephens said, but there are always things that can be done better.

Since the program has only been going on for six weeks, it is not yet known what all can be done better, she said.

For students who are not part of the Choose Your Major community but are struggling to find their major, Kenyon said he has devolved a Web site for the program. He said any student can go to www.exploremajors.indiana.edu and go through the same steps as students living in the community.

“Picking a major can be frustrating,” Kenyon said. “With this, we are trying to make it fun and exciting.”