Dear Incoming Ox Student: A First Year Reflection

Dear Incoming Ox Student,

You have probably heard the typical college spiel by now.

You get to campus, grab your ID and dorm key, and enter your home for the next few months. You scramble to unpack your things and head out to meet your new peers at orientation. You say your last goodbyes to your parents and try not to cry in your new bed at night. Then on with orientation, and before long, classes start. Your professors barely know your names and your grade depends on two, three exams. You're in the library 24/7, with barely any time to spare on any other extracurricular commitments after classes (but also because it is ridiculously difficult to apply for these clubs). You spend your weekends sleeping in or going out, maybe with a couple of people from your classes if you happen to run into them. Or, you're alone in your dorm room, bent over stacks of books. However, this is not the case at Oxford.

Jack Hardy, Associate Professor of Linguistics, and Badia Ahad, Dean of Oxford College.

Orientation and life in general at Oxford is different from other colleges. Given the small class sizes and the fact that there are only first and second years on campus, you are entering a small, tight-knit community where you can be seen and heard, not only by your peers, but by faculty and staff. For instance, you might struggle to move all of your belongings from your car to your dorm on the first day of move-in, but Oxford professors such as Dr. Jack Hardy may step in to help out. (You may also later see him handing out stickers in the dining hall.)

Following move-in, you will be greeted by Oxford administration and sent off to your orientation groups, which consists of about sixteen fellow first-years and one second-year orientation leader. You might be shy, but these small groups help you open up and let yourself be heard—you may even find your closest friends after spending hours on icebreakers and team-bonding activities, including the notorious Oxlympics (which I will not spoil). However, you should also try to engage outside of your orientation group, such as with your floor-mates. Who knows, maybe your dorm neighbor will be your next statistics tutor!

Luckily, these community-building efforts do not subside after orientation, even as classes begin. Instead of entering lecture halls with hundreds of students, you will enter classrooms of about 16 to 25 students that are within a five minute walk from your dorm. Your professors will take attendance (yes, attendance counts) and then very likely play ice-breakers or have you fill out "get-to-know-you" sheets because your professors truly value getting to know you.

Especially in your discovery seminars, where your professor will serve as your academic advisor later on. These discovery seminars are required for first-years and allow you to discover, explore, and reflect on a particular discipline to expand your thinking. Some fascinating classes hosted in the past include True Crime Storytelling, Trauma and Resilience, and the Biology of Pets. Even if you don’t get the particular seminar you want, you will probably connect with your classmates through class discussions and projects, which is another point of speciality at Oxford. Because of these small class sizes, you will have the space to work on group projects that you present to the class.

It sounds intimidating, especially as an introvert, but this is the perfect opportunity for you to practice public speaking and classroom engagement—an experience your peers at Atlanta may not even get the luxury of having until their later years. Hence, I challenge you to participate at least once in every class. Your professors will appreciate the gesture, making way for a strong relationship, and the next time you have a presentation or interview, you will already have a lot of public speaking experience behind you.

Beyond the classroom, you will continue to find spaces to expand your knowledge and broaden your social circle by engaging with the wide variety of on-campus events, many of which are hosted by student groups you can easily get involved in. Even as a first-year, you can gain leadership experience by serving on executive boards along with your second-year leaders, who you will also likely form close relationships with. By engaging in these clubs and connecting with sophomores, you can get a better sense of what to expect in the future, including the transition to Atlanta. You will also learn the importance of teamwork and communication—but not without effort. It is easy to overcommit, with all of the incredible organizations and opportunities on campus. Therefore, the best way to combat this is to plan ahead and COMMUNICATE with your team so everyone is on the same page (your club presidents will also appreciate this and very likely help you secure a future upper-exec position).

There are plenty of leadership development and volunteer opportunities such as an excursion into the wilderness through Leadership Oxford. As an avid bug-hater, you might be wondering why you would willingly sign up for this. But these experiences in your first year—an opportunity many do not get until their junior or senior year—will translate well as you apply for internships and jobs with the generous help of the Career and Professional Development staff at Candler Hall and a trusty app called Handshake.

There are also incredible opportunities to get involved in the broader Oxford community—from building parade floats at Christmas to picking tomatoes at the farm, these are the perfect study-break activities you can sign-up for while contributing to the wider Oxford community.

That being said, this experience would only be possible if you let the Oxford College community guide you. Hence, I encourage you to be open to new experiences and challenge yourself to do one "uncomfortable" thing each day to truly immerse yourself in the unique environment that is Oxford. I can’t wait to see what you make of the Oxford experience in the fall!

Sincerely,
Fiona Kuo 26Ox