Meet the JAs to the Class of 2013
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Junior Advisors at Williams College
Junior Advisors (JA) have been a cornerstone of first-year residential life at Williams College for the past seventy-seven years. JAs are Williams Juniors who volunteer to live with first year students and help them acclimate to college life. President Garfield first proposed the idea of an upper-class advisor/mentor living with first-year students in 1925. Garfield made clear the juniors were not to "act as proctors but that they were there simply to guide and aid the new men by precept and by advice. " Junior Advisors are not paid by the college, and therefore their role is not that of an in-dorm police officer. Just as Garfield intended, JAs serve as informal counselors and mediators, but above all JAs are friends, who just happen to know the lay of the land.
President Garfield renovated first-year living at Williams College by creating housing systems presently referred to as "entries", or groups of around 25 first-year students who live in a section of a dorm with two Junior Advisors. Garfield reasoned that "during this first year in college the ground should be kept fertile for the cultivation of the attitude of mind which (Williams) seek(s) to establish," and that "the guidance of selected juniors" would acquaint the entering class "not only…with the ideals of the college, but…with its highest ideals." From the get-go JAs were required to oversee weekly discussion groups held by each entry, facilitate interaction between men of different backgrounds, foster the exploration of "an interest in questions of which (first-years have) hitherto had little or no knowledge", and serve as role models for students new Williams students.
The age of the fraternities threw some glitches in the path of Junior Advisors, however. JAs faced the hot seat in the late 1950s/early 1960s with accusations of being "rushing tools", or using their advantaged position to recruit the most "desirable" freshmen to their respective fraternity. Problems escalated to the point where the JA selection committee determined the JA class could consist of no more than 4 JAs from the same social unit. The dissolution of fraternities in 1962 returned the role of Junior Advisor from a fraternity spokesperson to the less socially complicated position of "informal counselor" and friend that JAs still hold today.
Support from the college administration has been a constant across the years for Junior Advisors. Along with the support of colleges presidents (after all, President Garfield believed JAs to be of the highest moral character), College Deans and JAs have always worked hand in hand, with the Deans lending support to JAs when needed, and JAs keeping the Deans abreast of first-years' issues on campus. John Hyde, former Dean of the Freshman Class reminded JAs in 1963 that "It is…your personal counsel and example which bear the most weight with the freshmen. Get to know them as quickly and as well as possible," all the while encouraging JAs "to drop by for a chat, for it is only with your help and cooperation that I can perform my duties effectively." The reciprocal relationship between the Deans and Junior Advisors is essential in the success of the JA system.
According to Robert C.L. Scott, former Dean of First-Year students, "judgment, responsibility, job interest, a desire to work with people, and an ability to project oneself to understand and sympathize with freshman" are qualities necessary for a Junior Advisor . Furthermore, JAs are capable and trained to point first-years to available resources on campus if serious problems arise. As Williams has grown in size and diversity, so too has the role of the JA class. Now, Junior Advisors must be able to make ties with both males and females, domestic and international students, and students of all religions and ethnicities. Mentoring and mediating have stood the test of time since the 1920 and still are an active part of being a JA, but the role has broadened, grown, and evolved along with the College. Each Junior Advisor brings a different, valuable perspective on academic, social, and extracurricular aspects of life at Williams College.
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Anne Kerth and Evan Skorpen |
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Lauren Zurek and Isaac Nicholson |
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Jeff Putnam and Anna Soybel |
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Danielle Diuguid and Kwame Poku |
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Janna Gordon and Dave Thompson |
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Laura Corona and Ben Atkinson |
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Dan Costanza and Jillian Hancock |
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| Mike Ryan and Maddy Wendt | |
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Tina Meade and Henry Mills |
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Joey Kiernan and Giselle Jimenez |
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| Jared Johnson and Ryann Tookes | |
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Chandler Sherman and Jack Wadden |
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Sarah Bender and Gary Roberson |
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Ellen Ramsey and Ifiok Inyang |
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| Tim Lengel and Caroline O'Connell | |
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James Allison and Taylor Shea |
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Matty Masucci and Caitlyn Cain |
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Becca Tyson and Evan Dethier |
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Peter Gottlieb and Brittany Baker-Brousseau |
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Ariel White and Harlan Dodson |
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Kelly Lippman and Jon Morgenstern |
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Mike Leon and Susannah Eckman |
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Lizzie Barcay and Jonah Zuflacht |
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Chessie Jackson and Ari Binder |
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Alicia Cook and Will Harron |
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| Mopati Morake and Emily Studenmund |
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Lizzie Barcay and Kwame Poku |
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| 2009-10 *JA Advisory Board |
Kayla Elliott and Rachel Rosten : Co-Presidents Chris Law
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First-year Residential Seminar
The First-Year Residential Seminar (FRS) is an inovative program which seeks to find ways of integrating the social and academic pursuits of its participants by exploiting the opportunities for interaction that exist in a residential college such as Williams.
In the program, students in a single entry of first-year housing agree to take one course in the fall semester jointly with the other entry members. The course is designed to confront students with important and provocative concepts and questions. The course is intended to stimulate lively and productive discussions.
This mixing of the social and academic lives of the FRS participants is designed to help them establish comfortable and meaningful relationships with both classmates and professors during their first year, and to give them the opportunity to integrate intellectual interests with the rest of their pursuits. The process of learning is not restricted to the classroom. By providing students with common texts and issues, the FRS program encourages students to share with one another their ideas, passions, values, and beliefs, and to see those they live with as individuals with important ideas and opinions. The FRS program helps break down the separation between classroom life and dorm life and reflects a growing awareness among Williams students of their responsibility to educate one another.
It should be stressed that this is not an advanced placement or honors
program; its academic standards and expectations are comparable to those
in other first-year courses. In the case of over-subscription, FRS participants
will be randomly selected. It is expected that this opportunity will appeal
to a broad cross-section of the entering class: in the past, FRS students
(like all Williams students) have pursued highly diverse academic and
extra-curricular interests. It should be noted that participations in
FRS will not interfere with the pursuit of other interests and courses
outside of the program.