Some people are good with kids. Some are good with freshman. But either way, all freshmen coming into Webster University this fall will soon learn that the key to being a good freshmen is to get involved on campus.
Sarah Tetley, who is the new director of the first year experience program at Webster, understands freshman better than anyone on campus. Tetley, who has worked her entire career helping college rookies transition from high school to college, is one of those people nearly every freshman will see and get advice from before they start school. Tetley points out to new students and their expectations of what college is going to be.
“There is a mixture of expectations: what they perceive it’s going to be; what their friends and family tell them it’s going to be, and what society says college is going to be,” Tetley said. “You just never know until you get here.”
Tetley has worked as a hall director in freshmen buildings a teacher of freshmen classes and a first year experience coordinator at St. Louis University, among other jobs.
“My personal interests and my professional work made this position a perfect fit for me,” Tetley said regarding the newly created position. “I’m ecstatic to be here; I am a Webster fan to the heart. I feel like this place is a really good institutional fit for me, and the position itself is like icing on the cake. It’s something that I am really looking forward to develop.”
Among her duties, Tetley will help in every area of freshmen transition, from recruiting to admissions to new student orientation. “I look back now at my undegrad experience and when I was a freshman and I think, ‘oh I can see bits and pieces of where I struggled and who did I reach out to and why that was effective for me,” Tetley said.
Tetley advises students to be open about college being different from what they see on TV.
“As far as the partying and having the whole animal-house philosophy, well, that happens sometimes, but when they [freshmen] actually get here they usually go, ‘wow, this is different than what I expected,'” Tetley said.
However, in her job of helping transitioning freshmen students, Tetley is not alone. Sitting in his office at the University Center, Justin Raymundo, student and president of the SGA, is getting things ready for the start of a new year.
Raymundo, a junior human rights major, remembers when he was a freshman at Webster and his desire to get involved. He said he knew he wanted to run for student government and get involved in the human rights programs.
“When I was a freshman I never thought I would ever be working for a for-profit, let alone a multi-national corporation. I never thought I would be sitting in the place where I am now,” Raymundo said.
Raymundo was elected president of the SGA and is currently working as Monsanto’s Corporate Human Rights Intern. Among his duties, he handles some communication with the United Nations. Raymundo said he owes what he has gotten thanks to the connections he has made on campus, and advices every freshman to be active on campus.
“Get involved and don’t be scared to get embarrassed or feel un-cool because you are the new freshman on campus,” Raymundo said. “Webster is a really inviting and encouraging place for diversity, but also we are just a really welcoming institution.”
In order to make involvement on campus easier, Webster’s student activities department is making technological advancements with the launching of www.involved.webster.edu. The new interactive website allows every campus club and activity to have it’s own space to post upcoming events, discuss issues, and make it easier for students to join a club through the page.
John Ginsburg, director of student activities, launched the initiative of the Web site with the hope that students would be able to more easily access information about Webster’s clubs and events.
“Something like this was lacking in the past. This is going to get populated by students once is up and running,” Ginsburg said. “It will be a great way to direct students and get them involved.”
Tetley said she believes this and many other programs designed for students reflect how much Webster cares for its pupils. “I think that at Webster faculty and staff invest themselves a lot in students and there is a sense of closeness here that students can look forward to and take advantage of. Sometimes it doesn’t happen in a lot of other places,” Tetley said