Faculty-nominated peer guides help incoming freshmen feelat home
Transitioning from high school to college can be a tricky road to navigate alone, but with the creation of Square One, students do not have to. Square One is a first year experience program started earlier this year that aids freshmen and transfer students’ transition into life at Harding.
“Square One’s purpose is to create shared learning experiences for freshmen,” said Kevin Kehl, director of Square One. “Our interest is to help students adjust to college life.”
Square One oversees pre-existing events such as Summer Stampede and Impact, and also created new programs like peer guides and a first year experience retreat.
Students have already experienced the positive effects of Square One and the events it manages, according to freshman Bethany Moore.
“I would have been really likely to feel homesick or struggled to adjust before classes started, but the weekend of Impact was so full of things to do and people to meet,” Moore said. “It helped me focus on feeling like a part of the school.”
Peer guides is a new program that places older students in freshman Bible classrooms two to three days per week. Their role is to help freshmen study, transition into college life and stay involved in campus activities, according to junior Peer Guide Alex Traughber.
“The goal is to provide an older friend to the freshmen,” Traughber said. “It gives them someone who can answer any questions they have or to help them in classes or just get them plugged in on campus.”
Peer guides are nominated by faculty and are encouraged to apply, then selected before the year begins.
Square One is hosting a free new student retreat on Sept. 6.
The day-long event is is at Camp Wyldewood and will focus on fellowship. It will be followed by tailgating before the Bisons’ first home football game of the season.
“The idea behind the retreat was to have another connection with each other beyond Impact,” Kehl said. “We want students to have another opportunity to be together and create a stronger institutional identity with Harding.”
New students can register for the retreat by texting their T-shirt sizes to their peer guides.
