Fall 2019 First-Year Seminar Ecology for Anglers elevates a common hobby into a learning opportunity through field trips and real-life application to the greater Davis area.

Taught by Dr. Louie Yang, Ecology for Anglers looked at the strong intersections between ecologists and anglers with focuses on local and broad ecology, environmental changes, and of course—fishing. This First-Year Seminar was a bit different than others because it included four 5-hour field trips rather than weekly classroom meetings.

First-Gen Seminars pairs first-generation faculty and students in a small, for-credit class environment where they share a common experience, foster a sense of belonging, and engage intellectual curiosity.

Jill G. Joseph, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., taught the First-Generation Seminar: Can Injustice Make You Sick? in Spring 2019. As one of three First-Gen Seminars that quarter, Dr. Joseph's class focused on how social circumstances, such as housing, education, employment, and other factors intersected with personal health.

By Bridgette Johnson, Mary Martin-Mabry, Ashley Vater, and Kyeema Zerbe

Before the electronic era, young adults used to learn about foreign cultures through ‘pen pal’ exchanges. What did people in each country eat, what were their interests and concerns, how did they differ from our own? Through letter writing, these insights would inform our own global thinking.