FIRST-YEAR "DREAM" SEMINARS
As a first generation college student,
Dr. Benavides Lopez shares her personal educational experiences with her students. “I’ve always valued personal stories in teaching, but I’ve learned how important it is to be vulnerable with your students and to be willing to share your story with students. And so it’s really helped me kind of humanize my role as a teacher in the classroom with my students.” Here is a video of Dr. Benavides Lopez sharing her story with us to help students achieve their goals.
Underway as a pilot program, First-Year Seminars have flourished and are benefitting students and faculty here at CSUDH. In addition Dr. Berkowitz shares,
“One thing that I have learned from teaching my UNV 101 course that I hope to integrate into my other courses is that I've really made an effort to help my students feel bonded to each other, the
campus, and to me. I think this is important in a freshmen seminar, but I think this is something that would be great to bring into my upper-level courses.”
Due to faculty ingenuity, care and passion the First-Year Seminar program is making a difference toward student success. The program offers a wealth of educational opportunities, personal growth, mentorship, new teaching methodologies, peer-to-peer learning, and community building...just to name a few! The benefits are outstanding!
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Dr. Shari Berkowitz
Public Administration