First-Year Experience Positions Students for Success

Before new students even arrive on campus, they’ve likely already met the First-Year Experience team. Throughout the summer before college, weekly webinars and monthly newsletters gradually introduce incoming students to the Lewis & Clark community.

Jonathan Manz, First-Year Experience director“We think a lot about what students need to know as they start their college careers,” says Jonathan Manz, director of the First-Year Experience. “Our overarching goal is to help students thrive in their personal and academic journeys.”

All the anticipation builds up to New Student Orientation (NSO), a weeklong celebratory introduction to campus held before classes start.

At NSO, students have the opportunity to meet staff from a variety of offices—from Career Center counselors to Campus Safety officers. They also participate in fun events, like this year’s silent disco and a drag clown improvisational performance by Native Artist-Scholar in Residence Anthony Hudson. Additional activities are organized by student clubs and performers.

First-year students also have the opportunity to participate in a Service Day put on in collaboration with the Center for Social Change and Community Involvement. Students spend the day with their peers in downtown Portland, giving back to their new community.

This year, the First-Year Experience team partnered with SOLVE, a local environmental nonprofit, to do a city clean-up project. “We’re trying to facilitate a connection between our students and the city of Portland,” explains Jonathan. “It’s a good, safe opportunity for our students to experience our city.”

To navigate the week, students are assigned to a small group—either fellow first years who share their core Words or Numbers class or other new transfer students. This creates a connection that extends throughout the academic year. The group is led by a New Student Peer Mentor, who is a current sophomore, junior, or senior.

“A big piece of the peer mentoring program is to create belonging and connections,” says Manz. “First years get to hear from a current student about their experiences in a small, more intimate group setting. Getting that insight and having that chance to ask questions is really valuable.”

First-year students agree. “My student leader’s attempt to connect with us, not only saying ‘let’s do events’ but ‘let’s do events that you want to do,’ makes everything we do as a group fun and entertaining,” says Yan Hatchette BA ’28.

Students receive support from their New Student Peer Mentor throughout the semester during one-on-one check-ins, group outings in Portland, and on-campus events. Each group of student mentees is able to vote on activities tailored to their interests to keep the program engaging and accessible. This year, for example, student groups took trips to Powell’s Books and a downtown farmers market and enjoyed on-campus movie nights. During these outings, students learn how to use L&C’s free shuttle service and Portland’s public transportation system.

Melanie McManamon, First-Year Experience coordinator“It’s great that these groups have the insight to be able to curate a set of events that are enticing, engaging, and fun,” says Melanie McManamon, coordinator of the First-Year Experience. “It’s important they have the opportunity to do these things in a smaller setting.”

“Peer mentors lead new students with the understanding that starting in a new college, a new state, and sometimes a new country can feel intensely overwhelming and scary,” says New Student Peer Mentor Alister “Jia” Ng BA ’27. “We help new students learn about essential resources, recognize the validity of their feelings, and, most importantly, hold space to embark on their own unique journeys.”

Peer mentors are also enriched by the experience. “During New Student Orientation week, on the little grass patch by the Frank Manor House, I found it powerful to learn my mentees’ names, hobbies, and stories,” says Ng. “I’ve gotten the absolute honor of knowing such fantastic people, and it fills me with pride to see them flourish and carve out their own place in this community.”

The First-Year Experience team is now preparing to hire a new generation of mentors for the next academic year. “Our mentors do the work because they are really passionate about supporting new students and their experiences here—and often because many of them had a great experience with their own peer mentor the prior year,” says McManamon. “They’re phenomenal people creating a phenomenal experience for our new students.”

First-Year Experience