More Engaging and Less Lonely

The Big Effects of a Small Seminar

By Nic Cazin, Alexa Justice, and Jill Nied

Living alone for the first time, leagues away from family, eating in the dining halls — a first semester at the University of Iowa brings many preoccupations. But exploring a first-year honors seminar isn’t one of them.

First-year seminars are small, discussion-based classes that give honors students in their first year at the university a selection from a wealth of unique topics. Ranging from health sciences to literature, each course is one semester hour typically meeting one hour per week or off-cycle more often and ending in October or November. Either way, they are a wonderful way to connect with like-minded students and professors.

Among the many topics offered are some especially for honors students.

“Choose a subject that speaks to you, one that allows you to explore interests you have in a fun, non-committal way,” advised professor Elke Heckner, who has regularly taught the first-year seminar Museums, Monuments, and Memorials.

Natalie Hawk, a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering, chose Heckner’s seminar, informally known as MMM, when she was signing up for her first semester of classes. The seminar broadened students’ understandings of history and culture through exploration and travel. 

While the seminar was not related to Hawk’s major or academic area of interest, she found it was a great way to learn new perspectives and think critically.

“I wanted to learn more about an experience I wouldn't experience otherwise,” Hawk said.

As a cinema and screenwriting double major, Jenna Freeseman was originally worried about her first-year seminar, Futurology. It seemed a bit too science-focused, but she decided to take the challenge and enroll in the class.

Throughout the semester, the students looked at new and upcoming technology as well as media that depicted versions of the future. Then, they created predictions about that future as well as their own individual ones. These discussions and activities helped Freeseman view her major in a new light.

“We watched ‘Interstellar’ because it was looking at the future of the world and how everything turned into a farming-based lifestyle,” Freeseman said. “Seeing how the future was depicted in movies allowed me to look through the lens as [a cinema and screenwriting major] and see how people are taking the current world, writing about it, and creating something that the general public can believe.”

Later in the semester, Freeseman found the class also had benefits beyond a creative outlook.

“Toward the end, we did a lot of community outreach interviews, and we found out that our professor’s neighbor actually works in the film industry,” Freeseman said. “I went in with very low hope, and now [I have a] connection.”

Additionally, the first-year honors seminar helped introduce Freeseman to the honors coursework and allowed her to make connections with other students she is unlikely to take classes with again.

“There were a lot of people who were on the pre-med track, and I would never have had a class with them if it weren’t for Futurology,” Freeseman said. “It was interesting to hear their perspective, especially coming from the honors standpoint.”

Danika Jacobson was confident in her choice of honors first year seminars, and it didn’t disappoint. As an English and social justice double major, What is a Book? stood out to her as a class that could further her understanding of her field of study.

Taught in the special collections archive in the Main Library, students learned the art of printmaking, the history of the printing press, how to make paper, and how to handle ancient texts, including first edition printings of Jane Austen novels and pages from the Gutenberg Bible. 

As a final project, members of the class curated a museum exhibit to be displayed on the third floor of the library during the spring semester.  Danika’s main takeaway from the course was the relationships she made. It was a good way for her to forge long-lasting friendships. What Is A Book? reunited in February for the opening of their exhibit.   

As a whole, honors first-year seminars make the first semester of college more engaging and less lonely than it might be otherwise. Whether the class is major-specific or something that seems like a fun new challenge, honors students are encouraged to jump headfirst into their academic journey. They get their hands dirty, open their minds, and make connections that will last the rest of their college experiences.