Every year, CC accepts about 40 new Winter Start students. Winter Starts are students who have taken advantage of a gap fall-semester to reflect, study abroad, or explore their interests before beginning their academic career at CC.
Winter Starts choose to participate in a variety of enrichment programs prior to their first semester of college. While they have many options, some of the most popular programs include High Mountain Institute Gap, Where There Be Dragons, Hebrew University in Jerusalem: Freshman-Gap Year Program, School For Field Studies, and Fall Start Away.
At HMI, students are given the opportunity to spend three months rock climbing in the American West and Patagonia. The WTBD programs offer cultural immersion in foreign countries through internship or independent study options. The Hebrew University program at the Rothberg International School allows freshman students the opportunity to study the Middle East. Courses include the study of the modern Hebrew language, religious studies, and behavioral studies. The School for Field Studies offers courses in environmental studies. These courses are taken abroad in Peru, Cambodia Vietnam, Panama, Bhutan, Tanzania, Australia and New Zealand, Turks and Caicos, and Costa Rica. The FSA program starts students on a block-like plan elsewhere in the world.
“Being a Winter Start is definitely a unique experience. I’m really lucky to already have a great group of friends that I made during FSA last semester but it also makes it harder to push myself to meet new people,” said Winter Start Rosalee Bayer. “Everyone has been super welcoming and friendly so far though. Since we missed the crazy rush of 500 new students scrambling to make friends I think we are all having a slower time of meeting people, but I’m sure it will all work out.”
This year, CC held Winter Start Orientation from Saturday, Jan. 12 to Monday, Jan. 21. In addition to the traditional five-day Priddy Trip to Baca, WSO also included various meetings with the Director of Global Education, the Vice Provost, and the Advising Hub.
The WSO capstone speaker for WSO was Jared Richman, Associate Professor of English. His talk, titled, “Listen to my tale: 200 Years of Frankenstein,” addressed the Common Book Read, “Frankenstein,” by Mary Shelly.
Throughout blocks 5–6, Winter Starts will partake in CC’s FYE program. This year, two FYE options are offered for Winter Starts in the political science and English departments. Professor John Simons will teach an English class over American 50s literature titled, “That 50s Class: Literature, Film and Culture in a Crucial American Decade.” Professors John and Eve Grace will teach a Political Science class titled, “Fundamental Debates on the Common Good.”
CC encourages current students to warmly welcome Winter Start students to the campus community.