{"id":64086,"date":"2024-12-02T07:51:35","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T12:51:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=64086"},"modified":"2024-12-20T10:43:08","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T15:43:08","slug":"connecting-the-classroom-to-chattanooga-with-a-mocs-first-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/connecting-the-classroom-to-chattanooga-with-a-mocs-first-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Connecting the classroom to Chattanooga with \u201cA Moc\u2019s First Year\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_64097\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"798\" data-attachment-id=\"64097\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/connecting-the-classroom-to-chattanooga-with-a-mocs-first-year\/introduction-to-community-engagement-24\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,798\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Angela Foster\/University of Tennessee at Chattanooga&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 6_2&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Students work in Tammy Garland\\u2019s Introduction to Community Engagement class, Wednesday, Sept.17, 2024 at the YMCA on Dodds Avenue. Bryant Fairley is pairing with the class on Mocs in the City.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1726651397&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;2500&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Introduction to Community Engagement-24&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Introduction to Community Engagement-24\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Students work in Tammy Garland\u2019s Introduction to Community Engagement class, Wednesday, Sept.17, 2024 at the YMCA on Dodds Avenue. Bryant Fairley is pairing with the class on Mocs in the City.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731-1024x681.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-64097 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Tammy Garland\u2019s &quot;Introduction to Community Engagement&quot; class brought first-year students to the Dodds Avenue YMCA on Sept. 17, 2024.\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731-1024x681.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731-800x532.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731-580x386.jpg 580w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Introduction-to-Community-Engagement-24-5731-610x406.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Tammy Garland\u2019s &#8220;Introduction to Community Engagement&#8221; class brought first-year students to the Dodds Avenue YMCA on Sept. 17, 2024. Photo by Angela Foster.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\u201cA Moc\u2019s First Year\u201d officially launched during the fall semester at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and first-time, first-year students explored what the city of Chattanooga has to offer.<\/p>\n<p>UTC initiated the new program with the intention of building learning communities to ease the transition of first-time students into college while creating a community with fellow students.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Delight Yokley, the assistant provost for student success, joined UTC in 2023 to lead AMFY efforts and is already seeing exciting results with the different first-year experiences available.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s way more exciting just listening to what\u2019s happening in the classrooms and how excited the faculty members are,\u201d Yokley said. \u201cI guess in your mind, you picture a first-year experience because I\u2019ve run so many. There\u2019s a way to do a first-year experience, and normally, everyone does the same thing, right? But we didn\u2019t do it that way this year.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Faculty at UTC were given the freedom to design their courses, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe ended up seeing really exciting ways that faculty are amazing people,\u201d Yokley said, \u201cand they\u2019re very creative. If you give them the freedom, the things that they come up with are incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The initial semester of &#8220;A Moc&#8217;s First Year&#8221; included:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>986 first-year UTC students participating in the first-year experience<\/li>\n<li>95 faculty and staff instructors<\/li>\n<li>43 unique topics and\u00a051 sections<\/li>\n<li>dozens of opportunities to engage with the Chattanooga community<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_64124\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"564\" height=\"428\" data-attachment-id=\"64124\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/connecting-the-classroom-to-chattanooga-with-a-mocs-first-year\/amfy-slide-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/AMFY-Slide-2.png\" data-orig-size=\"564,428\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"AMFY Slide 2\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/AMFY-Slide-2.png\" class=\"wp-image-64124 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/AMFY-Slide-2.png\" alt=\"Courtesy of Dr. Delight Yokley\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"style=\"max-width: 100%;\"\/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Courtesy of Dr. Delight Yokley<\/p><\/div>\n<p>One example of creative design is Department of Communication Associate Professor Chad Harriss\u2019s \u201cExperiencing Chattanooga\u2019s Live Entertainment\u201d course, where students explored Chattanooga\u2019s music scene.<\/p>\n<p>In this course, students were tasked to create and organize a concert at Cherry Street Tavern.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think the primary purpose of this program is to introduce students to the community here in Chattanooga, to encourage them to reflect on the experiences that they have, and most importantly, to have fun,\u201d Harriss said.<\/p>\n<p>For freshman Walter Staszewski, the class offered a unique opportunity to explore his passion for music.<\/p>\n<p>A bass player and singer for the local band I before E, Staszewski was able to bring the course\u2019s final project to fruition. On Nov. 13, I before E performed at Cherry Street Tavern with another local artist, Sunny War. It was a near sellout.<\/p>\n<p>It wasn&#8217;t the first time Staszewski played with Harriss in the crowd. Before they met in the first-year experience course, Harriss watched the band play at another Chattanooga venue, Dark Roast.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c(Harriss) just loves music and loves the scene,\u201d Staszewski said. \u201cIt\u2019s a pretty cool connection to make early on to know that he has heard of us. It\u2019s always really rewarding when you are recognized by people or they\u2019ve heard you before.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_64096\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"833\" data-attachment-id=\"64096\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/connecting-the-classroom-to-chattanooga-with-a-mocs-first-year\/cuisines-of-latin-america-24\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,833\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.2&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Angela Foster\/University of Tennessee at Chattanooga&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 6_2&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Niki Tejero\\u2019s Cuisines of Latin America class works Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in the Metro Building to make sauces and salsas.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1727269087&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;3200&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.003125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Cuisines of Latin America-24&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Cuisines of Latin America-24\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Niki Tejero\u2019s Cuisines of Latin America class works Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024 in the Metro Building to make sauces and salsas.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832-1024x711.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-64096 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832.jpg\" alt=\"Dr. Niky Tejero\u2019s \u201cThe First Year Experience: Cuisine of Latin America\u201d course made sauces and salsa during a Sept. 25, 2024, class in the Metro Building. Photo by Angela Foster.\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832-1024x711.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832-768x533.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832-800x555.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832-580x403.jpg 580w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Cuisines-of-Latin-America-24-2832-610x423.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Dr. Niky Tejero\u2019s \u201cThe First Year Experience: Cuisine of Latin America\u201d course made sauces and salsa during a Sept. 25, 2024, class in the Metro Building.<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Dr. Niky Tejero, associate dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, created a course titled \u201cThe Cuisine of Latin America\u201d in which first-year students explored the Chattanooga area through local cuisine.<\/p>\n<p>Freshman Arthur Williams helps run a family restaurant in Cleveland, Tennessee, called Spoonys. He said he enjoyed learning how to prepare dishes from different cultures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy favorite thing about the class is that I just get to experience more cultures and take my skills from home, especially in this class,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI like to learn new cooking techniques and just food I haven\u2019t experienced because it\u2019s Latin American food.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Not all learning communities took place off campus, as the Challenger STEM Learning Center was the host for some AMFY courses.<\/p>\n<p>Rob Lein, an exploration specialist at the Challenger Center, said he was excited about the first-year experience program\u2019s growth and what that means for the center.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think just tightening those connections to the school is very important,\u201d Lein said. \u201cComing in and doing a mission with freshmen, that\u2019s a good bonding experience. We also have team-building activities that we\u2019re doing with them as well, and it is great for them and their relationship. I think it\u2019s great for their relationship with their school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Staszewski and Williams recommend potential first-year students join one of these learning communities and experience what AMFY offers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think anyone interested in those opportunities should definitely join sooner rather than later and they should come into it as soon as possible,\u201d Staszewski said. \u201cIt\u2019s only going to get bigger from here.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI most definitely would recommend classes such as these because I feel like there\u2019s just no better experience getting the feel of college,\u201d Williams said.<\/p>\n<p>Yokley said she is excited about students experiencing and connecting with material they are passionate about in a less controlled environment outside the classroom.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cStudents are incorporating that \u2018outside the classroom\u2019 piece and are learning something in their three-hour class and then actually visually seeing it in their one-hour class, and that to me is so cool,\u201d Yokley said.<\/p>\n<h4>Learn more<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.utc.edu\/enrollment-management-and-student-affairs\/admissions\/visit\">Visit UTC<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.utc.edu\/enrollment-management-and-student-affairs\/student-success-programs\/first-year-experience\/a-mocs-first-year\">A Moc\u2019s First Year<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/03\/introducing-a-mocs-first-year-new-first-year-experience-program-aims-to-create-a-sense-of-community-and-connection-to-chattanooga\/\">Introducing \u2018A Moc\u2019s First Year\u2019: New first-year experience program aims to create a sense of community and connection to Chattanooga<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.utc.edu\/apply\">How to apply<\/a><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_64102\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" ><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"829\" data-attachment-id=\"64102\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/connecting-the-classroom-to-chattanooga-with-a-mocs-first-year\/geology-mocs-explore-chattanooga-24-11\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1200,829\" data-comments-opened=\"0\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;3.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Angela Foster\/University of Tennessee at Chattanooga&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON Z 6_2&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Amy Brock Han\\u2019s class tours Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Raccoon Mountain Caverns.&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1727517807&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;24&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;4000&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.02&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Geology MOCS Explore Chattanooga-24&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Geology MOCS Explore Chattanooga-24\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Amy Brock Han\u2019s class tours Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024 at Raccoon Mountain Caverns.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221-1024x707.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-64102 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221.jpg\" alt=\"Students in Dr. Amy Brock-Hon's first-year experience course in geology, &quot;MOCS Explore Chattanooga,&quot; recently toured Raccoon Mountain Caverns.\" style=\"max-width: 100%;\"style=\"max-width: 100%;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221-1024x707.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221-768x531.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221-800x553.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221-580x401.jpg 580w, https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2024\/11\/Geology-MOCS-Explore-Chattanooga-24-221-610x421.jpg 610w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><p class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students in Dr. Amy Brock-Hon&#8217;s first-year experience course in geology, &#8220;MOCS Explore Chattanooga,&#8221; recently toured Raccoon Mountain Caverns.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cA Moc\u2019s First Year\u201d officially launched during the fall semester, and first-time, first-year UTC students explored what the city of Chattanooga has to offer. The University initiated the new program with the intention of building learning communities to ease the transition of first-time students into college while creating a community with fellow students. <\/p>\n<p class=\"more-link-wrap\"><span><a class=\"more-link button text\" href=\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2024\/12\/connecting-the-classroom-to-chattanooga-with-a-mocs-first-year\/\"><span>Continue Reading <\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1493,"featured_media":64097,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_slider":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_featurette":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[661,70,15,4926,61,59,56,4866,3,122313,7712,57,64],"tags":[122404,124997,124428,123665,123827,123148,123828,124776,7228,122104,123829,123530,124996],"class_list":{"0":"post-64086","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-academics","8":"category-campus","9":"category-challenger-stem-learning-center","10":"category-college-of-arts-sciences","11":"category-college-of-engineering-and-computer-science","12":"category-college-of-health-education-and-professional-studies","13":"category-communication","14":"category-community","15":"category-experiential-learning","16":"category-faculty-and-staff","17":"category-college-of-business","18":"category-news","19":"category-students","20":"tag-a-mocs-first-year","21":"tag-arthur-williams","22":"tag-carter-graham","23":"tag-chandler-harriss","24":"tag-creating-the-mocs-experience","25":"tag-delight-yokley","26":"tag-leveraging-our-special-place-as-chattanoogas-university","27":"tag-mocs-learn-mocs-do-mocs-lead","28":"tag-nikolasa-tejero","29":"tag-niky-tejero","30":"tag-operating-with-excellence","31":"tag-rob-lein","32":"tag-walter-staszewski","33":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Connecting the classroom to Chattanooga with \u201cA Moc\u2019s First Year\u201d | UTC News Archive: Jul 2007 - Oct 2025<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"\u201cA Moc\u2019s First Year\u201d officially launched during the fall semester, and first-time, first-year UTC students explored what the city of Chattanooga has to offer. 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