The UCO Office of First-Year Experience needs faculty and staff volunteers for its “House Calls” program on Sept. 20. “House Calls” is a joint First-Year Experience Programs and Housing and Dining Services program.
“It’s a way for us to connect with students outside of the classroom, outside of the offices, and just to check on them and make sure they’re acclimating to the university and making sure everything is going okay,” Assistant Director Tori Christiansen said. “It’s a way for us to maybe find problems early on; also, it’s a way for us to get information out to the students and help them know that we’re here for them, basically.”
Fall 2011 marks the third semester for the program, which has staff and faculty perform cold calls on students living in resident halls.
Georgia Fiering, Executive Assistant to Executive Vice President Steve Kreidler, participated in the program in its first semester. She said she went into it completely blind, but it was a wonderful experience for her.
“It was bitter cold, and I was with a partner, and we did part of the Suites building. So we were out in the cold, knocking door-to-door, and we were just there to say ‘hey, how are things going, we hope you’re doing well, do you have any questions about school at all that we can help you with, or just anything, you know, any kinds of questions,’” Fiering said. “The kids were fabulous. Most of them invited us right in, and were just so gracious; they wanted to chat and chat and chat.”
Faculty and staff sit down and talk with students about how the latter group’s experiences at UCO thus far and offer any advice they deem necessary for a successful college career.
“We’ve had between 20 and 25 faculty and staff members each semester that we’ve done (UCO House Calls) who volunteer their time to come out and just say hey to the students and make sure that they’re doing okay, and just offer their expertise to the students if they’re having any problems or if they have any questions or needing advice on anything,” Christiansen said.
Other participants in the program included Dean of Liberal Arts Dr. Pamela Washington, and Director of Campus Activities and Events Kay Robinson.
Robinson participated in the program’s first two semesters.
“It’s a really neat program. You get to go around and talk to the students in the residence halls that you wouldn’t normally see on a day-to-day basis in our office, so it’s kind of nice to go out to them,” she said.
“Overall, I think we have had a very positive response from the students in that they appreciate knowing that those faculty and staff members care and that they’re here for them,” Christiansen said.
UCO House Calls is scheduled for Sept. 20 from 6 to 9 p.m. Faculty and staff volunteers will receive a free meal and training session at Buddy’s immediately preceding the session.