Students gather together in Horton on September 20, 2011 at a meeting titled, “Considering changing your major as a sophomore?” Student Development hosted “Sophomore Week” in order to target the needs of students at Biola. | Jessica Lindner/THE CHIMES

University responds to needs of sophomores

Sophomore Week continues Thursday with its traditional Sophomore Mugging at 7:30 p.m. on the mailbox lawn as one of the many events that will be a part of a year-long calendar that will attempt to address the specific needs of sophomores.

“The students in this class level tend to be provided less opportunities for their unique needs,” said Amanda Winningham, chair of the sophomore programs committee.

Winningham explained that after the chaos of freshman year, the incoming sophomore class is generally overlooked even though the second year is crucial for their development.

According to Winningham, Sophomore Week is only the beginning of many events that they have planned for the sophomores.

When the programs committee interviewed some of last year’s sophomore class, Sophomore Week received overwhelmingly positive reviews out of all the year’s sophomore events.

“Not only did we believe they were important, but the sophomores told us they were,” Winningham said.

Upcoming events for sophomores

Coming up in October is the Sophomore Academic Advising Week where students will meet with their individual advisers who will guide them into planning the rest of their time at Biola.

Throughout the year students will have the opportunity to enjoy a three-course meal in the Cafe Banquet Room with faculty members from the myriad of different departments at Biola., such as Dr. Joanne Jung, professor of of Biblical and Theological Studies, and Dr. Scott Waller, associate professor of political science. The Faculty Dinner Series will commence next month and will be held three other times throughout the year. The dinners are limited to 20 students and requires an RSVP.

Sophomore Week helps build community

“Sophomore Week was one of the most relevant events of the year,” said junior Roderick Garcia. “It gave us the opportunity to get in touch with faculty and students that we otherwise wouldn’t get the chance to because of class sizes.”

Events during Sophomore Week give students the chance to form relationships with other people who are in the same phase of life.

“You build a community when you’re with people your own age, instead of getting lost in the shuffle,” said Brittany Watts, a junior who attended Sophomore Week last year.

This week’s sophomore events

This year’s Sophomore Week offered a variety of events, Winningham said.

“The decisions made in sophomore year have significant implications on the spiritual, academic and personal success of students in their career at Biola,” Winningham said. “We want to walk alongside students in this process.”

On Saturday, Spiritual Development will be putting on a Sabbathing that will be a time of reflection and prayer specifically targeted toward the sophomore class. The first 250 sophomores to attend will receive a free copy of “Listening to God in Times of Choice,” written by Gordon Smith, the president of Resource Leadership International.

“The Sabbathing is targeted to sophomores, because there is a lot of focus on new students and we want to give them a place to focus on where they are,” said Noreen Muehlhoff, administrative assistant to Spiritual Development.

Earlier events this week included Monday morning’s chapel, where Williams spoke on this year’s theme Sacred Space. The day concluded with an international internship workshop. Monday ended with the strengths workshop, where students were given suggestions on how better utilize their strengths.

Biola hosted the Majors Fair in Mayers Auditorium on Tuesday, which was open to all underclassmen, specifically those without a declared major.

Sophomores heard from alumni and upperclassmen on other pertinent issues such as paying off their student loans after college. For those sophomores still unsure about the choice of major, opportunities were given to listen to students who switched majors their sophomore year.

The study abroad panel on Wednesday night allowed sophomores to listen to other students’ experiences traveling abroad in foreign countries. While at the same time in the Hope Hall lobby another Skills Workshop helped sophomores discover their specific skills.

Sophomore week is not the conclusion of sophomore events, rather the beginning, according to Winningham.

“We realize that Sophomore Week is not all incompassing which is why we’ve scheduled events throughout the year,” Winningham said.