This year, 50 Teachers College (TC) incoming freshmen leapt at the chance to come to campus early to participate in the Jump Start program. Free to participants, Jump Start is a three-day transition program for incoming students enrolled in TC, the College of Communication, Information, and Media, and the College of Sciences and Humanities.

Day One – Move in Day

On Wednesday, August 10, a full week before most students would arrive on campus, the TC Jump Start participants moved into their dorms. They checked in, moved in, and then made sure to get some photos with their families.

In the evening, the Jump Starters had dinner together and started to get to know their fellow TC students with some ice breakers.

They learned about the Maker Space in the North West dorms as they made room decorations and played some games.

Day Two – Community Day

Day two was all about the Jump Starters learning about the Muncie community. The tour of the city was geared specifically to students striving to become educators. It included the Huffer Memorial Children’s Center, Longfellow Elementary and Grissom Elementary, Southside Middle School, Ross Community Center, Connection Corner, and Avondale United Methodist Church. Emphasis was placed on showing the students how educational resources are clustered in the community. Faculty got the Jump Starters thinking about how community and environment impacts how students perform in classrooms.

While on the tour, Jump Starters had lunch at the Rosebud Coffee House on the south side of town.

The group had dinner at a food truck set up on the grounds of Hazelwood Christian Church near campus. They met more Teachers College faculty, and played lawn games.

Day Three – Campus Fun

On the final day of the Jump Start program, the participants met the Teachers College Dean, Anand Marri.

They learned more about campus by playing an Amazing Race style scavenger hunt for campus resources.

After lunch the Jump Starters broke up into groups, and learned more about their majors and departments.

We hope everyone had a great time getting to know the campus and the Muncie community with us!

A special thanks to the faculty who helped make this a successful program: Linda Taylor, Katie Crews, Penny Craig, and Dixie Denton (pictured below).

Check out this video of some of our favorite Jump Start moments.