GREENEVILLE – Incoming students at Tusculum University learned more about what they can expect and what opportunities await them when they begin their studies during the first orientation event of the summer season.
Kai Slater, right, was one of the incoming students to attend Pioneer Quest Friday, May 22.
Natalie Dunbar, right, came for Pioneer Quest.
Tusculum held Pioneer Quest in the Scott M. Niswonger Commons and the Meen Center Friday, May 22. The new group received greetings from the Tusculum administration and heard firsthand from current students and recent graduates about life as a Pioneer.
“We were thrilled to assist these students as they prepare for this exciting step in their personal and academic development,” said Zack Kassebaum, vice president of enrollment management and financial aid. “We will continue to walk with them through the remaining stages to ensure a smooth transition to the start of their coursework at Tusculum.”
Incoming students received valuable information from the Office of Student Affairs, the Office of Campus Safety, the Thomas J. Garland Library and the Center for Academic Success and Tutoring. They also heard from the Christian Leadership Institute, Student Support Services and representatives of the theater and Honors programs. They were able to address financial matters with the Office of Financial Aid and the Business Office.
Additionally, the group learned more about the different academic teams available to students at Tusculum – debate, quiz bowl, mock trial and esports. The students also had an opportunity to meet with faculty members and advisers.
Pioneer Quest was not solely for the students. Most of the students came with parents, and the university held sessions for moms and dad to gain a fuller understanding of the excellent experience that is coming for their children at Tusculum. The parents heard from many of the same individuals that spoke with the students as well as from parents of current students.
“Parents have a vested interest in their child’s success, and it is our pleasure to help them be comfortable and secure with this changing dynamic in their family,” Kassebaum said. “We were pleased to speak with them today and assure them that we have their children’s best interests at heart and are focused on equipping them in a caring Christian environment to be career-ready professionals.”
Viewpoint of new students
Among the new students will be Sarah Mathis, a transfer student from Greeneville, and Daniel Lanning, a Knoxville resident, who will enter Tusculum fresh from finishing high school.
Mathis will pursue a degree in biology, with a pre-medical, dental and veterinary concentration, and plans to ultimately become a dentist treating underserved populations and rural areas. She also wants to perform volunteer and nonprofit work. It is appealing to her that Tusculum is 10 minutes from her house, and she finds the university’s status as the oldest higher education institution in Tennessee to be a cool fact.
Tusculum student Macey O’Connor talks with incoming students.
Dr. Scott Hummel, left, speaks with current and incoming students and a parent.
She also has a history with Tusculum, having participated in the university’s Upward Bound Math and Science program when she was a student at Chuckey-Doak High School. Like Student Support Services, Upward Bound Math and Science is a federal grant program that helps students whose parents do not have a bachelor’s degree and who meet income-eligibility requirements. SSS works with college students, while Upward Bound Math and Science assists high school students.
“I have a connectivity here on campus, and the people I’ve talked to are super nice,” Mathis said. “I love the staff. I just felt like it would be a really easy transition for me. The campus is absolutely beautiful. It just seems really down to earth here.”
Lanning will seek a degree in sport management and play on the men’s lacrosse team. He appreciates the proximity of Tusculum to Knoxville so he can make the drive to and from that city in a day, if necessary. He also really likes Mike Brisbin, the men’s lacrosse team’s head coach. He said a lot of the student-athletes on the team reached out to him.
Another attraction to Tusculum is its smaller size.
“I feel like I can get to know more people on a deeper level than I can now,” Lanning said. “I am excited about that aspect of it. And the school colors match my hair.”
Remarks from administrators
As the students start their studies at Tusculum, Dr. Scott Hummel, Tusculum’s president, said they can look forward to participating in Pioneer WOW. That acronym stands for Welcome Orientation Week. For new students, that consists of a number of activities starting the Thursday before classes begin in August and continuing through that Saturday. Additional activities for all students extend for another six days.
The purpose of the event, which blends a lot of fun with important information, is to help students bond with each other and make the adjustment to college. Students are able to develop friendships before classes start.
Dr. Scott Hummel, top left, joins incoming students and their families for a photo.
Dr. David Cook makes remarks at Pioneer Quest.
Dr. Hummel also emphasized the opportunity for students to grow in multiple ways during their studies
“I’ve had an opportunity to see the potential of students, sometimes even potential they weren’t convinced they had,” Dr. Hummel said. “Or often you have students who are pretty nervous or anxious and are afraid they won’t be able to realize their potential. One of the things that is exciting about being a college president is to see them achieve it.”
Dr. David Cook, provost and vice president of academic affairs, highlighted the work of SSS, which provides a number of activities to support its participants, such as mentoring and advising them to increase the likelihood they will graduate. He also reinforced Tusculum’s provision of tutoring services to help students achieve greater heights in their classes.
Another benefit for new residential students is the presence of resident assistants, who will care about them and check on them. Starting in the fall, Tusculum will also have dorm chaplains in three residence halls, who will help students spiritually. Plus, the university offers the Discipleship Living-Learning Center, which are university-owned houses with a Christ-centered environment where first- and second-year students are discipled, strengthened in their faith and formed for lives of service and leadership.
Dr. Cook said smaller classes will help students.
“You’re going to be able to know your peers and people in your classes,” he told the new students. “If you are an athlete, you will have a coach and some of the athletic staff working with you. If you are not an athlete, there are all sorts of clubs where you’re going to have a faculty or staff sponsor. You will have the opportunity to have people pour into your lives.”
Dr. Hummel talked about the importance of the outcome each student has in college.
“It’s very important that people don’t just have access to college,” he said. “We want them to have access to graduation. You don’t want to just go to Tusculum. You want to graduate from this university.”
More information about the university is available at www.tusculum.edu. To apply, please visit https://site.tusculum.edu/apply-visit/apply/.