Leveling Up

Like the first level of a good video game, the first year of college can be exciting, fun, challenging and rewarding. It’s an opportunity to explore and try out new things, to develop new skills and get a feel for how things work as you prepare for the next level.

And just like leveling up in a game, the second year of college can be full of surprises. The novelty may have worn off a bit, the challenges are harder, and there are new skills to learn, as well as less time to do so — but the opportunities and rewards are even greater and have more of an impact on what’s to follow.

“We know the second year poses new challenges, but it also affords new opportunities,” says Joyce Stern, dean for student success and academic advising. “In their second year, students get to declare their major. If they’re going to study abroad, they make those plans, too. They’re often living in a brand-new part of campus with different friends and classes offer new challenges. In general, second year is kind of a restart for them, a time when students have a chance to engage the College in a different way.”

Since arriving at Grinnell in 1999, Stern has been involved in a variety of efforts to provide greater assistance and support for second-year students. What started as a retreat for second-years turned into a weeklong program in 2015, which still proved too compressed for the events and programs that were needed. These days, the Second Grinnell Year program involves events and programs throughout the year in collaboration with several offices and departments including academic advising, off-campus study (OCS), the Center for Careers, Life, and Service (CLS), alumni relations (DAR), and others, as well as a designated coordinator in Jillian Steelberg, program coordinator for academic advising.

“Our goal for the program is to support second-year students across several elements of their life here: academics, leadership, social, and everything in between,” says Steelberg. “A vital component of this program is that we have co-sponsors across campus, so it’s very holistic and we’re able to pull in more resources and more connections and make it more appealing to a wider group of students with different concerns and experiences.”

Though accurate, the name “Second Grinnell Year” just didn’t seem to fully describe the action and effort behind the program. When Steelberg and her partners across campus were brainstorming new names for the program, they recognized the parallels between a student rising to new challenges during the second year of college and of a gamer taking on a new round in a video game.

When work begins at the end of this academic year with current first-years as they begin the transition to their second year, the program will adopt its new moniker, Level Up.

“It really speaks to the idea that you’re going up a level, that things are going to get a little more challenging,” says Steelberg. “But you’re also going to find that you are more skilled and more equipped to meet those challenges, and this program has resources to help you realize this and to assist in navigating the experience by connecting you with people and offices on campus that will enrich your experience.”

While some students have a major in mind, others need help making that decision. Still others may need more academic support and some need assistance with the social aspect of life, among other things. But at the center of all the new and varied challenges and opportunities — the increased expectations and demand on time, the major decisions to be made, the new social dynamics — is the search for a feeling of purpose among it all.

“From what I’ve observed, second-year students have a particularly strong desire to attend events, to meet classmates, and maintain social connections in spite of academic commitments,” says Steelberg. “The Level Up program exposes students to all of the opportunities that are available around campus and helps them realize the meaning behind their efforts.”

Zach Spindler-Krage ’25, a second-year political science major, connected with the second-year program through his work as a class ambassador.

“One of the things I realized about the second year is that you kind of think about what little time you have left,” says Spindler-Krage. “In your second year, I feel there’s much more of a sense of purpose and more about learning about who you are, aside from academics. I know I personally learned a lot about myself as a person.”

For more information about the Second Grinnell Year (Level Up) program, contact Jillian Steelberg in academic advising.