Aria Behrouzi
Three First Year College classes participated in an organized day of outreach to 8th graders at Centennial Middle School on Tuesday afternoon.
Colors and energy filled a conference room in the Friday Institute as the FYC students mingled with the middle school students.
The classes, under the guidance of FYC advisors Melissa Simpson, Shannon Brandt and Matthew Rust, planned the educational events which consisted of skits, personality assessment activities and interaction with middle school students.
“I think it was great to interact and learn about [the 8th graders],” Kathryn Hilderbran, a freshman in FYC, said.
Prior to the event, the FYC students took a personality assessment that categorized personality types into four main categories identified by colors.
The FYC students orchestrated skits to present the categories to the middle school students.
“It’s important that firstly you know about yourself to know things you would enjoy and excel in,” Rust, an FYC advisor, said.
Instead of a final exam or paper, FYC students had the opportunity to combine everything they learned this year on top of actively interacting with middle school students.
“This is more giving back and a more active way to assess what was learned,” Brandt said. “Who wants to write a paper?”
Brandt explained that 8th graders are the targets for the FYC outreach program because they are in a transition period between middle school and high school, similar to the situation First Year College students are in.
“Eighth graders are kind of going through the same transition,” Brandt said. “What’s best to relate to them other than First Year College students?”
Rachel Russ, an FYC freshman, also said that it is easy to relate to 8th graders because they are all at transitional points of their lives.
“First Year College has helped me with different majors to see what’s out there and what I’m interested in,” Russ said.
In two days, nearly 200 Centennial middle school students will complete their personality assessments and receive information on how to cope with transitions from experienced FYC students.
FYC advisors indicated that if the premier trial of the program is a success, it will be continued and expanded to all FYC classes next year.
Kasey Barnette, an FYC freshman, plans to major in education and she said this experience helped encourage her decision.
“Working with kids made me realize I really do want to teach,” she said.
FYC sophomore Matthew Bell said the students found the outreach experience to be beneficial not only to the 8th graders, but also to the participating college students.
“It wasn’t just a teaching experience, it was a learning experience,” Bell said.