When I read Diane’s email asking me to facilitate a community-building session for the incoming first year students of the Foundation Year’s program, a little doorway to warm memories flung open in my heart. Foundation Year exists to support first-generation, nontraditional, and primarily students of color; the program is designed to minimize the challenges that have traditionally hindered student success. Over a decade ago, I used to facilitate empowerment programs for Washington state’s GEAR UP program which exists for a similar reason. GEAR UP helps historically excluded youth of color gain readiness to succeed in undergraduate programs. Back in the day, the GEAR UP programs I facilitated helped students before they got to college, but at Foundation Year, the program supports students from right before their first year of college starts, all the way to the start of sophomore year. As Diane told me, “We exist to remove any barriers that can prevent our students from matriculating or succeeding once they transition out of the program.” Diane reached out to me on the recommendation of one of her faculty member’s sisters (word of mouth is real!) and after a brief meeting, we both agreed that this could be a beautiful collaboration. 

Before I tell you about the workshop I brought to them, I have to gush about how incredibly well-designed this program is. Foundation Year provides everything from dedicated advisors, faculty with only Foundation Year students in small classes of 20-30 students each, vouchers for meals, advice on local housing opportunities, a library of textbooks that students can borrow for free, and even devices like iPads that they can use to take notes, research, and write their papers on. The program is especially focused on ensuring that students have a chance to build strong positive relationships with each other because the host university doesn’t have any on-campus dorms for these students; all the students live off-campus and commute to classes. Without the ability to rely on the proximity-based serendipity of 24/7 dorm life, the Foundation Year organizers need to purposely design opportunities for students to experience meaningful connection—otherwise, it might not happen.

One way they do that is by connecting with students in the summer before college. Intuitively knowing that a program mentally begins once a student is accepted, Diane and her team took thoughtful steps to ensure that the students would feel warmly welcomed and supported long before their arrival on campus. During the summer, the faculty introduced themselves via recorded video messages to students, and the students had a chance to get to know each other online before anyone set foot on campus. Another excellent way they practice what they preach when it comes to cultivating community is that many of the professors planned to participate in our interactive workshop, and several students who’d completed the Foundation Year program in the past came back as volunteers to welcome and guide incoming first-year students through the three days of orientation. 

Ok, so fast forward to a cross-country flight and the beautiful sunny afternoon of our event. On the first day of their three-day in-person orientation, I led a full afternoon session focused on community-building and strategies for creating friendships and community from scratch at any stage of your life. These kinds of connection-building skills aren’t taught in high schools but every student would need to practice them during their first year of college and then again at the start of their sophomore year when they transition out of Foundation Year into the larger university population where they may or may not see their Foundation Year peers again. There are so many times in life when we need to create a network from scratch: when we start a new school, a new school year, an internship, a job, or move to a new city. Even if you stay in the same city forever, you’ll still need the skill of creating friendships and community, since there’s a good chance that many of your local friends are going to move away at some point.

After a morning welcome session and lunch together, a group of 90 students joined me in the bright and airy African American Institute. Their excitement and anticipation were evident, but you could also sense the simmering feelings of anticipation, curiosity, and a little nervousness as we gathered into a large circle. After a quick and fun movement exercise to get everyone energized, we were off to the races. The high-energy, highly-interactive workshop led the students through:

• Getting to know each other

• Discovering things they had in common

• Understanding how our maps of connection form

• Visualizing their individual maps of connection in their lives

• Learning about the four most successful ways to create friendships and community 

• Identifying ways to put those strategies into practice 

• Connecting with their existing gifts and strengths for creating connection, regardless of whether they're introverted or extroverted

• Working collaboratively in teams to creatively demonstrate each connection strategy via teamwork and creative improvisation

“It was clear from the beginning that students were excited to meet each other and to start building relationships. Many of them shared that they were happy to meet others with similar interests so we’re hopeful that these connections will continue to strengthen as the year goes along.”

— Diane Perez, Academic Advisor, Foundation Year

During our closing checkout circle, the vast majority of the students said that the session left them feeling relieved, connected, excited, energized, connected, happy, and optimistic. The faculty and I even celebrated that a handful of students admitted that they felt a little tired, since it meant that they really had pushed themselves to participate at a high level and they felt comfortable being open and expressing their honest feelings. In just a few short hours, every student had numerous opportunities to connect with each other, be seen and heard, and make new friends while learning more about how to create platonic and academic networks immediately as well as throughout their college career.

Diane’s been working in the Foundation Year program for 8 years and has seen it grow each year to meet the needs of more and more students. Reflecting on how this orientation experience played out for the students, Diane said, “It was clear from the beginning that students were excited to meet each other and to start building relationships. Many of them shared that they were happy to meet others with similar interests so we’re hopeful that these connections will continue to strengthen as the year goes along.”

About our collaboration working together, she said, “It was so great to have Kat there to lead us through those activities. It was fun but also challenging, and students were able to reflect deeply on the different ways they can make connections. We’re really grateful to have worked with Kat to bring that kind of experience to our program.” 

The students themselves also remarked on the value of the experience, saying that they were walking away with a clearer understanding of how to make and maintain connections in their networks, and a clearer understanding of the importance of social health and how they can cultivate it in their lives.

I’m grateful to have had the chance to bring this connection and community-building session to Foundation Year’s 2023 class of incoming university students. What they’ve created is a model for how to be purposeful, creative, iterative, flexible, and dedicated, to ensure that students get what they need to succeed in the short term and for many years to come. 

“It was so great to have Kat there to lead us through those activities. It was fun but also challenging, and students were able to reflect deeply on the different ways they can make connections. We’re really grateful to have worked with Kat to bring that kind of experience to our program.” 

— Diane Perez, Academic Advisor, Foundation Year

To book a similar gathering for your university, community, or company, reach out. I’d love to talk with you.