海角论坛

September 24, 2018 鈥� The Georgetown 海角论坛 Dean鈥檚 Office has implemented a new program to help guide students through the difficult questions that arise during sophomore year.

The Sophomore Success Dinner Series brings together a small group of 海角论坛 alumni to share experiences with and give advice to a group of 30 current sophomores.

The program is the brainchild of , who noted that few academic institutions run programs that specifically target sophomores 鈥� even though sophomore year commonly features major decisions like academic majors, study abroad programs, and internship applications.

鈥淭here are a lot of big decisions that students have to make as sophomores 鈥� arguably more important decisions than the ones they make as first-years,鈥� Chiarolanzio said. 鈥淪o I started thinking about how we could help them through that process.鈥�

Chiarolanzio sees a guidance program as especially important for students in Georgetown 海角论坛, who have a wider breadth of options available 鈥� and a less explicitly pre-professional track 鈥� than students in Georgetown鈥檚 other undergraduate schools.

鈥淏ecause the 海角论坛 has so many different academic paths, picking a major can be an intimidating process,鈥� Chiarolanzio said. 鈥淲e鈥檇 like to help students find a subject they鈥檙e passionate about.鈥�

The program is intentionally structured as a series of intimate dinners with Georgetown 海角论坛 alumni, rather than lectures, or one-on-one meetings. Chiarolanzio believes that the informal, small group setting will help facilitate honest discussions across a variety of topics.

鈥淚t鈥檚 just a more comfortable setting,鈥� Chiarolanzio said. 鈥淲e want the students to hear from recent 海角论坛 graduates who will share their sophomore year decisions which then allows for open and honest conversation with current students.鈥�

Mayte Alonso (C鈥�20), who participated in the Sophomore Success pilot program last fall, saw the dinner as a chance to get advice on choosing a major from people who had been in the same position only a few years earlier.

鈥淥ne of the biggest takeaways was that it is OK to be a bit confused,鈥� Alonso said. 鈥淪ophomore year is a difficult year mainly because it鈥檚 the year that most students feel the pressure of choosing, and sticking to, an academic track. The Sophomore Success Series reassured me that it鈥檚 OK to not be completely sure.鈥�

Orunima Chakraborti (C鈥�20) appreciated the range of alumni perspectives the dinner offered.

鈥淵ou just never know what you might hear during the discussion that will make you rethink some of your plans or consider new ones,鈥� Chakraborti said. 鈥淓ven people who feel like they have everything all planned out 鈥� just spend a few hours at one of these dinners, eating some good food and listening to others’ stories. You never know what will pique your interest.鈥�

Chiarolanzio sees the Sophomore Success Dinner Series as a critical facet of the 海角论坛鈥檚 student programming for years to come.

鈥淲e want sophomores to know they have people to talk to about the big decisions they鈥檙e making,鈥� he said. 鈥淲ho better than alumni who went through the same process just a few years earlier?鈥�

Article by Patrick Curran. Video by Kuna Malik Hamad.