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TRUE NORTHWESTERN
Your First-Year Experience
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You belong here. You belong here because of who you are and your many identities. True Northwestern will help you create a path that is uniquely yours. It isn’t just about your first step, it is about the journey you take throughout your first year that helps shape what you learn about yourself, others, and our community. Starting to find what is true and right for you is what your first year at Northwestern is all about.
First-Year Experience
True Northwestern exists to support an enriched experience in your first year as it integrates academic,
social, and community aspects. Strive to discover yourself as you explore rich programs that expand your knowledge and understanding, taking advantage of the diverse facets of life and learning at Northwestern. A singular experience is not what this place is about. Use the following pages to shape how you move through your first year, considering the four core areas: Self, Connection, Navigation, and Wellbeing. By taking your own Northwestern direction, you’ll find your True Northwestern.
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Self
Wellbeing
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Navigation
Connection
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Self Reflect on personal identities, areas of interest, and engage in dialogue related to difference within your communities. Reflect on Self Reflect on your identities, where you come from, what you value, and how those inform what’s important to your time at Northwestern.
Learn from Community Difference Gain new perspectives by dialoguing, listening, and learning from people of different backgrounds and viewpoints.
First-Year Experience
Analyze Areas of Interest Think critically about what you enjoy, want to learn, and want to get out of your time at Northwestern so you can connect with campus resources and engagement opportunities.
“I came into Northwestern thinking I knew exactly who I was and what I wanted to major in, but I quickly realized I had a lot to learn, not just in class, but about myself. My first year taught me about my strengths, perseverance, and actual interests. Several majors and personal discoveries later, I know this place has been vital in helping me to learn and grow.” -Mauricio G.
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Connection Seek to build supportive relationships with peers, develop an affinity to the University, and access the resources of Evanston and Chicago. Build Supportive Relationships
Discover Evanston and Chicago
Begin to build supportive relationships by engaging with others in many different communities throughout the entire year.
Explore the Evanston and Chicago communities in ways that align with your interests.
Pro Tip: Friendships will not be finalized in your first quarter and will change throughout your time here.
Learn about the Community Learn about the history and traditions of Northwestern, from the words of the fight song to the rich history of student activism to the date of our founding. Hint: It’s 1851.
“It felt uncomfortable for me to be in a completely new place with no one I knew during my first year. But, so many of my best and most valuable memories came from being in common spaces between classes, keeping my room door open, just sparking conversations with different people, and sitting with someone new in the dining hall.” -Megan R.
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Navigation Become familiar with resources on campus that exist to support your success, engage in opportunities to interact with faculty and staff, and understand what it means to be a community member. Seek Help Learn how to find and utilize people and departments to support you in achieving your goals. Hint: This place is more than beautiful buildings, people are here to help you navigate.
Engage with Faculty and Staff
First-Year Experience
Engage in opportunities to interact with faculty and staff so as to build a support system of campus resources.
Commit to Community Standards To successfully navigate a place, knowing what it means to be a community member is important. Seek to learn the standards of Northwestern and what it means to be a part of the Wildcat community.
“My hardest first step was being willing to ask for help. There are a lot of buildings on this campus, it was hard to figure out where I could get support. Once I started to utilize people like my PA, RA, and older students at the Black House, they helped me get a good grounding of what resources were available for me when I needed them.� -Amakie A.
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Wellbeing Incorporate approaches to life balance, establish methods to manage time and stress, and develop self-efficacy for seeking wellness-based resources. Manage Personal Wellness Establish methods for managing time and stress. Pro Tip: Do not hesitate to ask others about their methods; we’re all managing this together.
Take Time Major key alert: Reflection. It’s easy to get wrapped up in the day-to-day. Take a step back to look at what you’re learning and experiencing by talking with family/friends, writing it down, etc.
Find Resources “Resource” feels so administrative, but there are people here to help you thrive. Find campus services, staff, and faculty, or connect with friends to support your success. Hint: Resources include more than CAPS, such as Henry Crown and the Searle Center for academic support.
“I got to Northwestern and thought that being a ‘good student’ meant immediately getting involved with every extracurricular and taking every challenging class possible. Taking time for myself and learning to go at my own pace... has helped me thrive here.” -Matthew X.
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First-Year Experience
Finding Ways To Uncover Your True Northwestern Northwestern offers events, resources, and experiences throughout the year that connect with each of the components within True Northwestern. In fact, you’ve already been experiencing a few with the emails and social media posts you saw during the summer and the True Northwestern Dialogue sessions or social programming throughout Wildcat Welcome. But that was just a start. The following pages include a few more ways to explore the areas of True Northwestern throughout the year.
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True Northwestern Dialogue True Northwestern Dialogue Series Built from the core of True Northwestern, and to help you learn more about our community while supporting your success in the first year, is the True Northwestern Dialogue (TND) series. The first four sessions of the series are held during Wildcat Welcome, while you’ll continue with two sessions per quarter throughout the year. Yes, there are some great topics to help you delve deeper into learning and supporting yourself, but it is also a great opportunity to continue to see your Peer Adviser and the other students in your PA Group!
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Fall Quarter
Winter Quarter
Week of October 1 Your first TND of the fall quarter is all about you and your transition to this place now that you’ve been at it for a few weeks. Your assigned day, time, and location is specific to each PA group; your PA will announce these times.
Week of January 14 What better way to come back to campus than by reuniting with your PA group! Your PA will announce the day and time your group will meet. Together, you will reflect on the fall and discuss ways in which you can focus on your wellness throughout the quarter.
First-Year Experience
Beginning of November Now that you are more than halfway through your first quarter, it is important to revisit the topics of healthy relationships and consent originally covered in the Student Body TND during Wildcat Welcome. Your PA group will choose one performance to attend, followed by a group debrief.
Mid-February Wildcat Welcome’s Diversity and Inclusion TND was just the beginning of dialogue on how identities impact our transition and the transition of others. At the end of Winter Quarter, you’ll return to this dialogue with almost six months in this community.
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Spring Quarter Week of April 9 Your first TND of spring quarter focuses on connection and wellbeing. At this point, you have two quarters of experience and knowledge to reflect on and make sense of as you start planning for your second year.
End of the Quarter To celebrate the end of your first year at Northwestern, you’ll participate in a Northwestern first: the First Year Capstone Celebration. The entire cohort of first-years will come back together for the first time since Wildcat Welcome to celebrate the academic year and reflect on your Northwestern journey.
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Events, Experiences, and Resources Explore engagement opportunities with the office of Campus Life and at the fall and winter activities fairs. Participate in programs through your residence hall, Norris, Multicultural Student Affairs, and Wildcat Weekends. Utilize Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) for stress management clinics, wellness workshops, and more. Attend NU in Chicago through the Center for Civic Engagement.
First-Year Experience
Use recreational facilities such as Henry Crown, Blomquist, and Patten. Visit the Multicultural Center, the Black House, and/or the Gender and Sexuality Resource Center.
Discover academic support resources such as the Academic Resource Center and residence hall-specific help sessions. Meet regularly with your academic adviser to discuss areas of interests and potential opportunities. Connect with your designated Class Librarian to help unpack library resources. Participate in social justice education programs provided by Campus Inclusion and Community. Visit your Career Counselor at Northwestern Career Advancement.
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Only a small number of opportunities Northwestern has to offer is listed here. To stay in-the-know on programs that are perfect for first years, keep an eye on your inbox for monthly True Northwestern emails from New Student and Family Programs and on Wildcat Welcome social media accounts. Visit northwestern.edu/orientation for a more extensive portal of campus resources available for you to explore.
First-Year Experience
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Notes
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To learn more about True Northwestern and campus resources, call 847.467.3988 or visit: northwestern.edu/orientation
NEW STUDENT AND FAMILY PROGRAMS
First-Year Experience
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TRUE NORTHWESTERN
Your First-Year Experience