Designed for all new and returning instructors for Fall 2026, the Instructor Symposium serves as the cornerstone of the ongoing Hullabaloo U instructor development opportunities, community of practice, and recognition of excellence within the First Year Experience. Symposium will kick off with an Opening Session featuring a welcome from our administration, announcement of annual First Year Experience awards, and a keynote address from Dr. Laurie Schreiner, a national expert on student success. Two concurrent breakout sessions will follow the Opening Session. New this year, the FYE Team is offering an optional Post-Symposium Luncheon. For those who attend the Instructor Symposium in-person, we are offering an optional lunch to continue the day’s momentum through relaxed conversation, collaboration, and resource sharing. This informal gathering creates space (and free lunch!) to reflect on the morning’s sessions, strengthen community among new and returning instructors, and connect with campus partners who offer high‑impact learning experiences. Join us to deepen relationships and leave even more prepared for a successful fall semester.
Symposium Format
Both virtual and in-person attendance options are being offered for the Symposium:
- In-Person – MSC Bethancourt Ballroom (MSC 2300 CDE) - Breakfast will be provided. Check-in and breakfast begin at 8:00 AM.
- Virtual - live-streamed event in synchronous Zoom webinar format.
Symposium Schedule
- Check-In & Breakfast – 8:00 - 8:30 AM
- Opening Session (Welcome, Awards & Keynote) - 8:30 - 10:00 AM | MSC 2300 CDE | Zoom Link
- Concurrent Breakout Session 1 - 10:10-11:00 AM | Physical locations and Zoom links found in session descriptions below
- Concurrent Breakout Session 2 - 11:10 AM -12:00 PM | Physical locations and Zoom links found in session descriptions below
- Optional Post Symposium Luncheon - 12:00-1:30 PM (the luncheon will not be live-streamed for virtual attendees) | MSC 2300 CDE
Keynote
Thriving from the Start | Dr. Laurie Schreiner
Student success and thriving begins on the very first day of class, and instructors play a key role getting students started right. This session will introduce the concept of thriving in college as an expanded vision for student success and will outline key strategies for engaging students in the first-year seminar.
Dr. Schreiner will also present a breakout session in each session block on Thriving in the Classroom: Pedagogical Strategies for First-Year Student Success. This session will focus on specific strategies for engaging first-year students in the learning process, providing interactive examples along with the research that supports their effectiveness.
About Dr. Laurie A. Schreiner:
Dr. Schreiner earned her PhD in Community Psychology from The University of Tennessee. She is Professor Emerita at Azusa Pacific University in southern California, where she taught for 23 years in the PhD program in Higher Education. An award-winning teacher and researcher, her work focuses on creating a thriving campus—places where students, faculty, and staff are meaningfully engaged in their work, energized by learning, involved in healthy relationships, and making a difference. Author of the Thriving Quotient, her research has studied over 250,000 students from 300+ universities across the U.S., Canada, and Australia and has led to numerous publications, as well as the edited book entitled Thriving in Transitions: A Research-Based Approach to Student Success. In addition to her research on thriving college students, Dr. Schreiner has created instruments to assess thriving in faculty and staff and is co-author of The Student Satisfaction Inventory, as well as books on sophomore success. She has consulted with over 200 universities on issues of student success and thriving, effective teaching strategies, and faculty and staff well-being.
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Following the Opening Session, there will be two concurrent breakout sessions, the majority of which will be led by returning Hullabaloo U instructors. Breakout sessions are designed to provide a forum for sharing ideas, best practices, and innovative approaches to enhance the Hullabaloo U experience.
- In-Person presentations will be livestreamed for virtual participants.
- All sessions will also be recorded and posted to this website after the event.
Concurrent Breakout Sessions
Breakout Session Block 1: 10:10-11:00am
Thriving in the Classroom: Pedagogical Strategies for First-Year Student Success*
Dr. Laurie Schreiner, Keynote Speaker
This session will focus on specific strategies for engaging first-year students in the learning process, providing interactive examples along with the research that supports their effectiveness.
*This identical session will be offered in both breakout session blocks.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2300 CDE | Virtual: Zoom Link
Career Confidence Starts Here: Empowering First-Year Instructors to Build Career-Ready Classrooms
Melissa Shehane, Ph.D., Instructional Assistant Professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management & Barclay Osborne, Assistant Managing Director, Career Development
Equip new FYE instructors with simple, practical strategies to integrate career readiness into everyday teaching. This session shows educators how to support students’ career development without needing to be career experts themselves.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2300 A | Virtual: Zoom Link
Mentoring the Mentor: Practical Tips
Kimmy Clough, Assistant Director, Office of Institutional Effectiveness & Evaluation
This session equips instructors to create a productive learning environment for the peer mentor. Participants will learn about common mentorship styles and goal-setting templates; these same frameworks can be used by peer mentors in their work with first-year students. This session includes practical tips and examples from both an instructor and peer mentor perspective.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2300 B | Virtual: Zoom Link
Whoops and Poops: Building Community and Connections through Easy-to-Implement Strategies
Kristen Shumbera, Senior Lecturer, Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture
As a Hullabaloo U instructor, there is a unique responsibility of helping freshmen navigate their first semester in college. Through the implementation of various supports, this session will provide ideas that are easy to implement to assist in building community, getting to know the students and the experiences they have during the first year.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2400 | Virtual: Zoom Link
Building Individual Student Success
Julie Hurley, Program Coordinator II-Success Coaching, Academic Success Center
The presentation will explore the services of the Academic Success Center and focus on the top ten tips for individual student success. The tips will address common academic challenges students tend to face as they transition to independent living and higher academic demands.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2406 | Virtual: Zoom Link
Breakout Session Block 2: 11:10am-12:00pm
Thriving in the Classroom: Pedagogical Strategies for First-Year Student Success*
Dr. Laurie Schreiner, Keynote Speaker
This session will focus on specific strategies for engaging first-year students in the learning process, providing interactive examples along with the research that supports their effectiveness.
*This identical session will be offered in both breakout session blocks.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2300 CDE | Virtual: Zoom Link
Lectures that Actually Matter to Freshmen
Abigail Elliott, Career Development Specialist, Mays Career Center
Freshmen often report that many first-year seminar activities feel disconnected from their real needs...but they don't have to! Drawing from my own first-year Aggie experience (Class of 2023 - WHOOP!) and student feedback, this session explores practical, high-impact HU strategies that students find meaningful, applicable, and supportive (and HU Instructors find easily implementable). Attendees will leave with adaptable ideas for career-focused assignments, student-led engagement techniques, and campus-navigation activities that resonate with first-year Aggies, along with a clear understanding of how to integrate them into their syllabus.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2300 A | Virtual: Zoom Link
Understanding Freshman Burnout to Help Students Thrive
Peter Norris, Instructor, Hollingsworth Center for Ethical Leadership
Burnout comes as a result of chronic stress, and it stands as a critical barrier to undergraduate student success, with a majority of students who leave college citing emotional stress as their primary reason for departure. This session will provide attendees with an understanding of burnout, and with practical tools on how to assist students as they face the stressors of their first college semester.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2300 B | Virtual: Zoom Link
Start With a Question: Effective Practices for Facilitating Peer Relationships in the Classroom
Jordan Szura, Instructional Assistant Professor, Kinesiology and Sport Management Department
Strong peer relationships in the classroom increase student motivation to attend and participate in class, enhance class activities and discussions, and improve the overall student experience. This hands-on session will provide participants with a variety of easy-to-implement, fun, relationship-fostering activities that they can use in their own Hullabaloo U courses! Come ready to engage with your peers!
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2400 | Virtual: Zoom Link
From Day One to Career-Ready: NACE Competencies in Action
Caitlin Dartez, Assistant Managing Director, & Whitney Hinze, Program Manager, Career Center
Supporting students from day one is critical to building the foundation for long-term academic success and career readiness. This session equips faculty and staff with practical strategies to introduce the NACE Career Competencies early in the college experience. Attendees will leave with ready-to-use tools to help students begin identifying, developing, and articulating essential skills from their first semester forward.
In-Person Location: Memorial Student Center 2406 | Virtual: Zoom Link