First-Year Experience

First-Year Seminars (FYS) are designed to help you learn about a particular subject, and about the university, the Denver community and our diversity. Most importantly, you will learn about yourself and your abilities. It’s also a great way to meet new people and make friends. The first year of college is a challenging time of changes and adjustment. Our goal is to help you transition to college by both challenging and supporting you so you can excel academically and socially. Students should expect weekly writing and readings, participation in events outside the classroom, and a final project. Click here for a short presentation to see what FYS is all about!

Fall 2008 First-Year Seminars

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Fall 2008 FYS Course Syllabi
ANTH 1111-001	BIOL 1111-001	CHEM 1111-001	ENGL 1111-001	GEOG 1111-001	MGMT 1111-002	PHYS 1111-001
ARTS 1111-001	BIOL 1111-002	CMMU 1111-001	ETST 1111-001	MGMT 1111-001	MGMT 1111-003	TED 1111-001

Service Learning Projects

As part of the First-Year Seminar program, students have the opportunity to participate in a Service Learning project.

What is a service learning project?

Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities.

Fall 2008 Service Learning Project Descriptions

AIDS Walk Colorado Route Monitoring
http://www.aidswalkcolorado.org/aids_walk_colorado/index.html
Where: Cheesman Park
When: Saturday, September 6th (8:30am-1pm)
What to bring: Signed risk acknowledgement forms, sunscreen, sunglasses and water
What to wear: comfortable clothes similar to what you might work-out or run in, and close-toed shoes (no flip flops or sandals). Dress in layer as it will likely be cool in the morning but warming up exponentially.
What you’ll be doing: Route Monitors stand at designated station marking the route for participants, provide trash bags for waste, keep the route clean, clear and safe, and take down all markers and barricades when the event finishes. However, the primary task of a route monitor is to enthusiastically cheer on people walking and running.
AIDS Walk Colorado benefits Colorado AIDS Project and the fundraising teams of 30 other AIDS service and education organizations throughout the state of Colorado.
AIDS Walk Colorado was started in 1987 as a community response to the AIDS epidemic that was ravaging the nation. Today, AIDS Walk Colorado is the largest AIDS fundraiser in the Rocky Mountains, attracting over 7000 participants a year.
For 2008, AIDS Walk Colorado will take place on Saturday, September 6, 2008 in Denver's Cheesman Park. While traditionally AIDS Walk has taken place on a Sunday, based on feedback from various participants including communities of faith, we decided to move the event to Saturday.

I would encourage you to carpool or take the RTD to Cheesman Park. Remember your student ID with valid sticker will get you on the RTD for free. If you have questions about getting to Cheesman Park, please let me know.

In order to familiarize you with being a route monitor, the nice folks from CAP will be conducting a Route Monitor orientation on-campus. The date for this short orientation hasn’t been set in stone but will likely be Thursday, September 4th. This is completely voluntary. If you want to come we would love to have you. I’ll be sending out details about this short orientation session that week.

Auraria Campus Clean-up
http://www.ahec.edu/acec.html
Where: Flagpole Area on campus
When: Saturday, September 13th (9:30am-12:30pm)
What to bring: Signed risk acknowledgement forms, sunscreen, sunglasses and water
What to wear: comfortable clothes similar to what you might work-out or run in, and close-toed shoes (no flip flops or sandals). Dress in layer as it will likely be cool in the morning but warming up exponentially.
What you’ll be doing: You will be attending a brief lecture by professor Rebecca Hunt at the ‘Auraria Camp to Campus’ exhibit in the library, then cleaning up liter and debris in two teams and ending with a project to create awareness on campus about trash and recycling.
From Wikipedia:
The name "Auraria" survives in Denver as the neighborhood along the west bank of Cherry Creek to the east bank of the South Platte River, bordered on the south by Colfax Avenue. Auraria is easily confused with, but is entirely distinct from the City of Aurora, Denver's neighbor some six miles to the east.
The neighborhood of Auraria is dominated by the Auraria Campus, which is home to three institutions of higher learning: University of Colorado Denver (UCD), Metropolitan State College of Denver (MSCD), and Community College of Denver (CCD). Vestiges of the old neighborhood remain, however, in the Ninth Street Historic Park on the campus. Although the three institutions occupy the bulk of the Auraria Neighborhood, there is very little permanent residence. The schools mainly serve commuter students, though housing has recently developed at Campus Village Apartments (UCD), the Inn at Auraria, and The Regency.
The town was founded by William Green Russell and party of fellow settlers from Georgia on November 1, 1858, three weeks before William Larimer platted the future "Denver City" across Cherry Creek. The town was named for the gold mining settlement of Auraria, Georgia. Auraria declined at Denver's expense when Russell and many of his party returned to Georgia at the outbreak of the American Civil War in order to fight for the Confederacy. Auraria officially ceased to exist on April 6, 1860 when it was incorporated into Denver, and was referred to as West Denver.

South Platte River Sweep
http://www.greenwayfoundation.org/home/riversweep.html
Where: Fishback Landing Park- just north of Denver Aquarium and south of REI store
When: Saturday, September 20th (8am-12noon)
What to bring: Signed risk acknowledgement forms, sunscreen, sunglasses and water
What to wear: comfortable clothes similar to what you might work-out or run in, and close-toed shoes (no flip flops or sandals). Dress in layer as it will likely be cool in the morning but warming up exponentially.
What you’ll be doing: Working in small teams you’ll be sweeping or walking different trail sections along the South Platte River cleaning up litter and debris. You may also have the opportunity to work on areas of noxious weeds, by pulling the weeds and sowing appropriate grass and native plant seeds. Denver Parks and Recreation will provide work gloves and tools for you, but if you have your own work gloves please bring them. This unique event is held each year at "summer’s end" to help foster community pride and promote stewardship for our city’s "Greatest Natural Resources." Lunch will be served following the ‘sweep.’

Bluff Lake Nature Center –Native Seed Planting and Weed Removal
http://www.blufflakenaturecenter.org/
Where: 7350 E 29th Ave Denver, CO 80238-2720
When: Saturday, October 4th (8am-12noon)
What to bring: Signed risk acknowledgement forms, water bottle, sunscreen, a hat, bug spray, and heavy work gloves if you have them (if not we’ll provide gloves)
What to wear: Long pants and heavy soled shoes (no sandals or slip on shoes, no open toes) because the cactus and yucca can scratch your legs and poke through regular shoes. Dress in layer as it will likely be cool in the morning but warming up exponentially.
What you’ll be doing: Working in large groups you’ll be removing noxious plants, propagating native plants and restoring Bluff Lake to its original short-grass prairie state.

Bluff Lake Nature Center is a unique urban wildlife refuge and outdoor classroom in east Denver. It is home to an abundance of animals and native plants, and includes a variety of native habitats.
Bluff Lake Nature Center's mission is to "foster lifelong learning and environmental stewardship of a unique urban wildlife refuge...Bluff Lake."
Bluff Lake Nature Center occupies 123 acres adjacent to Sand Creek on the eastern edge of the Stapleton development. It offers a variety of native habitats including a seasonal lake, wetlands, short-grass prairie, a riparian zone and wetland woodland. Thanks to its 60 year history as an airport buffer, Bluff Lake has become an urban wildlife refuge for waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, songbirds, deer, fox, beaver, reptiles, amphibians and other types of wildlife that visit or live at the site.

Fall 2007 Service Learning Projects - click on the pictures below for descriptions