Bradley Harris’ Introduction to Chemical Engineering course introduces students to their major while allowing them to discover what interests them about the subject. Photo by Angela Foster.
For chemical engineering students in Associate Professor Bradley Harris’ First-Year Experience course at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, career questions are part of the coursework from the start.
What does a chemical engineer do? How can a student prepare for medical or pharmacy school? Where can students find people and resources to help answer those questions?
Harris, head of UTC’s Department of Civil and Chemical Engineering in the College of Engineering and Computer Science (CECS), is helping students begin those conversations through A Moc’s First Year, a campuswide program designed to help incoming first-time, full-time undergraduates make connections to UTC, Chattanooga and one another.
A Moc’s First Year learning communities link a First Year Experience seminar with a general education, introductory-level or major-specific course. Students take linked classes and participate in activities designed to build relationships and familiarity with the University and Chattanooga.
This semester, Harris teaches USTU 1250: The First Year Experience alongside ENCH 1000: Introduction to Chemical Engineering. The courses introduce students to their major while giving them space to explore their interests, learn about career options and prepare for the work ahead.
“To me, I think it’s about giving all students an opportunity to experience a community,” Harris said. “They get to know other students that are either in a similar walk of life, have a similar major or similar interests, build that community, get to know the campus and the city, and really feel at home here.”
Harris had previously taught the introductory chemical engineering course and saw an opportunity to pair it with the First Year Experience seminar. He said the structure gives him additional time to help students begin thinking about the careers that may follow their degrees and make informed decisions accordingly.
That work became more intentional after he participated in A Moc’s First Year training this spring and UTC Career Connections’ Career Integration Institute this summer.
“Last fall when I initially put the paired course together, it was a little rushed. I had some good ideas, but I was lacking on the implementation side. I got the opportunity this summer to go through the Career Integration Institute,” Harris said.
He credited Dr. Kristin Pope, executive director of Career Connections, and Joshua Morgan, associate director of academic and career integration, for helping him see how to put those ideas into practice.
“I saw some things there that, if I included them in the class, were going to have so many benefits for the kids beyond just even the project I want them to use it for,” he said.
Dr. Delight Yokley, assistant provost for student success, leads A Moc’s First Year. When Harris described the way he was combining ideas from the two UTC training programs in his course, Yokley said she was impressed by his approach.
“To hear someone say, ‘I heard this and this is how I’m implementing it. And then I went to this other training and I heard this as I’m trying to implement those two things together’ … honestly, it was an honor to hear someone taking the good work that we’re trying to do and build on it,” Yokley said.
Harris said the first-year students began the semester by completing PathwayU, an online career-exploration platform, and are using what they learned to consider interests, strengths and possible career directions. He is also using the small seminar format to help students get to know one another better before they begin a major team project in USTU 1250.
Harris said the career activity prompted students to begin asking different questions in class. One student already interested in a pre-health path began exploring pharmacy school. Another student offered to share what she knew about requirements for a pre-health minor and how to pursue that route.
Those conversations, he said, might not happen in a larger course. In the smaller seminar, he said he is learning more about students’ interests and can connect them with people and resources that can answer their questions.
The class recently met with a CECS alumni panel, where students asked about the Fundamentals of Engineering exam and contract work, among other topics. Harris said students were “asking questions that I think they only knew to ask because they’ve been going through these assignments.”
Students from the Introduction to Chemical Engineering course.
Harris is also connecting the students’ studies to Chattanooga, with planned trips including a riverboat tour of the Tennessee River and a visit to the Tennessee Aquarium. The experiences will include discussions about the history of chemical engineering, environmental stewardship and the chemical industry’s relationship with the river.
The paired course also gives students regular opportunities to connect through meetings and icebreakers.
“The earlier students get that kind of community, the better it is for them,” he said. “They’re going to get a lot more out of a study group with friends than maybe just something ad hoc I put in.”
Harris encouraged other faculty members to find ways to build that same sense of community through a paired A Moc’s First Year course.
“It gets you more face time with your students in a relaxed environment where you’re not doing tests and quizzes,” he said. “You’re trying to make them better prepared for their careers, so you’re going to get a lot more opportunity to learn about them on an individual basis and interact with them.”
AMFY Amplify is an ongoing series highlighting UTC faculty and staff members who are helping first-year students learn, connect and belong through A Moc’s First Year. Interested in learning more about becoming an AMFY instructor? Reach out to Delight Yokley at [email protected] or 423-425-5644 to learn more.
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