By Zainab Richardson | Staff Writer
Students often refer to the “sophomore slump” as a feelings of stagnancy and uncertainty in your second year of college, as the pomp and excitement of freshman year dies down. Baylor’s recently launched Year2@Baylor program hopes to fix that.
This new program was designed to provide more support systems for sophomores, helping them find their belonging while also exploring their purpose, said Senior Coordinator for Student Life Initiatives Matt Hintzoglou.
“So that kind of inspired us to really want to come alongside students and help them know that we still care about them, even if they’re not necessarily … new,” Hintzoglou said. “But we still want to be a part of their journey and to help them succeed here at Baylor and beyond Baylor as well.”
One of the main events in this program is “Sophomore Rooted,” a two-day retreat that will involve speakers and small groups getting together.
Hintzoglou said another reason for the program is to boost retention rates. Freshmen have several staple events and experiences that help them feel at home, which cease for second-year students.
“You think about things like … running the Baylor Line and going to Line Camp, and these are kind of things that Baylor students just do because that’s part of being a Baylor Bear, and that’s part of the Baylor experience,” Hintzoglou said. “And so we’re hoping to provide accessible ways for all students to come alongside each other each year following that as well.”
This program is going to be an extension of that, but for juniors and seniors who just missed the mark, there are mixed reactions.
Fort Worth junior Genesis Hudspeth said she wishes she could have participated in the program herself. According to Hudspeth, sophomore year brings a lot of change, and many students choose to change their entire course of study.
“A program that kind of helps kids like that would really be beneficial to sophomores,” Hudspeth said. “I feel like it could kind of eliminate that limbo panic state of, ‘What do I do now?’”
Others, like Nassau, Bahamas, senior Miracle Bain see the retreat slightly differently. After having spent a year in college, Bain said she wouldn’t be receptive to having people give her additional instructions.
“Having a bunch of adults kind of speak at me and telling me things that I should be doing, or I shouldn’t be doing — I know a lot of students are not going to be receptive to that because it’s hard to relate to someone that doesn’t seem like they’re in the same life crisis,” Bain said.
But for transfer students who came in as sophomores, the program could be the thing that bridges the gap.
Houston senior Leylah Walker-Battle transferred to Baylor her sophomore year and said the sophomore retreat would have been exactly what she needed to acclimate.
“I kind of had to go through it the harder way,” Walker-Battle said. “I mean, making friends for freshman year is hard, but making it as a transfer student is harder, especially when people have already established a relationship.”
Overall, the main hope of this program is to enrich students, and Hintzoglou said he hopes it can do just that.
“We’re hoping that as we continue to put stuff out for students, and specifically our sophomores, that they’ll continue to be curious about what Baylor has to offer them, and continue learning how to maximize their time here,” Hintzoglou said.
