THE
First Year Seminar
HEELOCK
Mark your
Calendar!

Read Just
Mercy before
Orientation in
September

Look for more
information
about the book
throughout the
summer in
your email and
on the
Wheelock
website and
blog
Contact
Information
Jenne Powers
(617)-879-2122
[email protected]
AY
June 2017
First Year Seminar (FYS) is your introduction to the habits of mind and ways of
knowing that form the foundation of your Wheelock education. The class will build
your critical thinking skills while helping you to reflect deeply on your own purpose
in pursuing higher education and the role that you will play in the Wheelock
community. FYS instructors have reputations for excellence in their fields as well as a
record of forming meaningful connections with first-year students. However, your
FYS instructor is not alone in facilitating your learning in this course. You will also
come to know an FYS mentor – a professional from Academic Advising, Academic
Assistance, or Student Life – who will work with your class to build skills that help
you articulate your values and meet your goals. You will meet Student Advisors who
will share their perspectives as fellow students and help guide you through your first
year. Together we will create a comfortable atmosphere for engaging and learning in
and out of the classroom.
FYS courses include the following areas, which we call Ways of Knowing: Creativity
and the Arts, Languages and Literatures, Science and Technology, Ethics and Social
Justice, Self and Society, and Historical Perspectives. You will be placed in a section
of FYS based on your responses to the New Student Assessment.
One of your assigned textbooks for this course is the Wheelock College Community
Read. Each year, Wheelock selects one book that all first-year students use in their
FYS classes and that everyone in our community is invited to read and discuss. We
are excited to announce that next year’s Community Read is Just Mercy by Bryan
Stevenson.
This autobiographical book is an account of Stevenson’s work as a novice lawyer
entering into the criminal justice system and his lifelong dedication to ending mass
incarceration and excessive punishment through the Equal Justice Initiative. Just
Mercy chronicles the case of Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to die for a
notorious murder he insisted he did not commit, along with other individual stories
that highlight the need for mercy and justice.
Please read this book before you arrive for Orientation in the fall! You
should receive a copy at FYI in June or through the mail if you are unable
to attend FYI.