The New Students

We use room 932 for the presentations of graduating students and faculty meetings. Today the room was filled with incoming MPH students who will be in the Community Health Sciences Division. And, the room was really filled, with eager, if not slightly apprehensive, faces. There were not enough chairs for the faculty to sit at the long parallel tables. So, we stood around the walls in the back of the room, looking a bit awkward.

Each of the 60 or so students gave a name, where they were from and something interesting about themselves. The Midwest states were very well represented, but students also came from both coasts. I don't recall any international students. (The decline in the number of international students corresponds directly with the tightening of granting student visa since 9/11.) Several students are training for marathons. Several like dancing or play a musical instrument. A few were funny. We have identical twin brothers. Some of the students will be taking all of their courses online, making this their only in-person appearance. Most of the students have some international experience either volunteering or studying abroad. Overall, wow, what a group.

For us as faculty, this first in-person introduction to the new students brings a certain satisfaction. We did good to have so many good applicants who want to come to UIC. We feel a renewed optimism about what they can do and how we can work with them. We feel anticipation for their learning curves and we feel confident in our ability to keep the curve at just the right slope. Then, we scurry back to our offices to finish our syllabi.