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Get Ready to Embark on Your Journey

The first stages of the PEAK experience help you orient yourself in the world of college so that you can become a purposeful planner as well as a willing explorer of new territory. You have an exciting road between you and graduation… Pause to consider the long view!

Who are you? Where are you coming from? Where are you going?

During Welcome Week, you can consider what’s in your travel pack as well as share resources with others. The First Year Book pulls you into the discussion of challenging ideas in a liberal arts setting. Together with professors and fellow students, you’ll have your first small group discussion about college-level questions.

Who are your companions?

You will meet your First Year Resident Assistant (FYRA) when you settle into your Residence Hall on the CofI campus. While you’re on the McCall Wilderness Experience, you’ll get to know your FYRA even better and make new friends through discussions and group activities at a camp on beautiful Payette Lake. Professors and staff come along to enjoy the fun and referee the bonding activities.

Who is your support team?

Your First Year Resident Assistant will be an important part of your experience in the halls and can help you answer questions about classes and student life. Early on you will also have the chance to connect with the Academic Support Center, where peer tutors offer encouragement and specific tutoring when you need it. It’s never too early to visit the PEAK Center, where you can always come to get reoriented and explore the support services available to you as you go through college.

What’s on your map?

You will also meet with a First-Year Advisor who will help you finalize your fall schedule and start a conversation about what academic realms you plan to explore during your time in college. (These meetings occur either the day before classes begin or within the first week.) Later during the first year, your Advisor and the Advising Coordinator will help you create a PEAK Map that will chart out the main routes and high points of your journey.