The Jamestown Journey to Success
With the first class of their first semester, University of Jamestown students begin a journey—a journey to success. The metaphor of the journey is apt because it reminds both students and those working with them to keep thinking about where the chosen path will lead. We want each student to make the most of his or her four years at the University of Jamestown. And as with any journey, the best way to make the most of it is to keep one’s eyes open in order to see as much as possible. Therefore, the Jamestown Journey to Success emphasizes the importance of looking:
Students Look Inward through examining their own interests, strengths, goals, and dreams. This begins in UJ Foundations where students meet in small groups each week with a faculty/staff teacher and an upper-class student guide. Teachers and guides provide the students with analytic instruments and hold discussions to help them think carefully about what they want to accomplish both inside and outside the classroom during the next four years. This results in thoughtful choices of major and minor areas of study as well as involvement in co-curricular activities.
Students Look Outward by asking how to take the talents and strengths they have identified and use them not only to accomplish their own goals but to serve those around them. All students at the University of Jamestown do community service. Students also have the chance to help others distant from the college through mission trips with groups such as Habitat for Humanity and the Presbyterian Church in Kenya or to serve those in our own community through groups like Students of Service, Champions of Character, and many others.
Students Look Beyond in order to learn about people, cultures, and ways of life different than their own. This happens through overseas travel to places like China, Costa Rica, Kenya, or Italy or within the U.S. to cities like Minneapolis, Chicago, or New York. But travel is not the only way to learn about new ideas and diverse perspectives; right on our own campus students can take advantage of International Week, Foreign Film Festivals, or interaction with international students.
Students Look Forward as they make use of college resources to prepare themselves for that next step into the world of work or further graduate study. Career Services offers student individual assistance in searching for a job or selecting a graduate school. University programs allow students to choose among a wide range of sessions on topics such as networking, interviewing, business etiquette, resume writing, applying to graduate school, and many more.
The Jamestown Journey is our way of ensuring that each student’s journey fits his or her needs, helps meet the needs of others, and leads to a successful future. The Journey also includes a co-curricular transcript for students who want them.* There are very few times in students’ lives when they will be surrounded by so many others dedicated to helping them reach their goals as during the years of their journey at the University of Jamestown.