Designing First-Year Success: Mentorship, Community, and Engagement

Melissa Lehman; Stefanie Powers; Brittany E. Kiser

doi:10.1080/87567555.2025.2600450

Designing First-Year Success: Mentorship, Community, and Engagement

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

This paper describes an innovative first-year experience program that supports students’ academic and personal success through mentorship, community engagement, design thinking, and guided personal development. A study on the efficacy of this program revealed significant gains in students’ sense of community, campus engagement, preparedness for life at the university, and confidence in securing an internship, in addition to positive feelings about faculty mentors. These results suggest the program’s effectiveness in strengthening early college experiences and promoting student confidence in navigating university life and career development.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	1-8
Number of pages	8
Journal	College Teaching
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/87567555.2025.2600450
State	Published - Dec 11 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Education

Keywords

First Year Experience
Design Thinking
Engagement
Mentorship
Preparedness

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

Access to Document

10.1080/87567555.2025.2600450

http://spiral.lynn.edu/facpubs/2290

Cite this

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title = "Designing First-Year Success: Mentorship, Community, and Engagement",

abstract = "This paper describes an innovative first-year experience program that supports students{\textquoteright} academic and personal success through mentorship, community engagement, design thinking, and guided personal development. A study on the efficacy of this program revealed significant gains in students{\textquoteright} sense of community, campus engagement, preparedness for life at the university, and confidence in securing an internship, in addition to positive feelings about faculty mentors. These results suggest the program{\textquoteright}s effectiveness in strengthening early college experiences and promoting student confidence in navigating university life and career development.",

keywords = "First Year Experience, Design Thinking, Engagement, Mentorship, Preparedness",

author = "Melissa Lehman and Stefanie Powers and Kiser, \{Brittany E.\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 Taylor \& Francis Group, LLC.",

year = "2025",

month = dec,

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doi = "10.1080/87567555.2025.2600450",

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T1 - Designing First-Year Success: Mentorship, Community, and Engagement

AU - Lehman, Melissa

AU - Powers, Stefanie

AU - Kiser, Brittany E.

PY - 2025/12/11

Y1 - 2025/12/11

N2 - This paper describes an innovative first-year experience program that supports students’ academic and personal success through mentorship, community engagement, design thinking, and guided personal development. A study on the efficacy of this program revealed significant gains in students’ sense of community, campus engagement, preparedness for life at the university, and confidence in securing an internship, in addition to positive feelings about faculty mentors. These results suggest the program’s effectiveness in strengthening early college experiences and promoting student confidence in navigating university life and career development.

AB - This paper describes an innovative first-year experience program that supports students’ academic and personal success through mentorship, community engagement, design thinking, and guided personal development. A study on the efficacy of this program revealed significant gains in students’ sense of community, campus engagement, preparedness for life at the university, and confidence in securing an internship, in addition to positive feelings about faculty mentors. These results suggest the program’s effectiveness in strengthening early college experiences and promoting student confidence in navigating university life and career development.

KW - First Year Experience

KW - Design Thinking

KW - Engagement

KW - Mentorship

KW - Preparedness

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105024672145

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105024672145#tab=citedBy

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DO - 10.1080/87567555.2025.2600450

M3 - Article

SN - 8756-7555

SP - 1

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JO - College Teaching

JF - College Teaching

ER -

Designing First-Year Success: Mentorship, Community, and Engagement

Abstract

Bibliographical note

ASJC Scopus Subject Areas

Keywords

UN SDGs

Access to Document

Other files and links

Cite this