Second Year Experience (SYE) at the University of Alabama at Birmingham is designed to support and empower second year students to become more involved and engaged with the UAB campus community, enhance their academic and professional success, engage with faculty, and develop a personal identity and purpose. During the second year of college, students begin to take on added responsibilities and make decisions that will affect the rest of their lives. It is during the second year that students struggle with major selection, academic self-efficacy, career development, faculty connections, motivation, financial viability, social integration/involvement, and developing purpose/identity.

SYE @ UAB seeks to assist second-year students as they navigate this pivotal year in their college career by offering a variety of resources, events, and opportunities. SYE serves all students (both on-campus and off-campus) who identify in their second year either in college or at UAB. The SYE office is located in the Upper-Level RLC off Blazer Hall. Paton Roden is the SYE Coordinator and is a Birmingham, AL native returning after spending 8 years learning how to best serve students. All second-year students are welcome to attend SYE Events (full schedule on our website) and to reach out to Paton to set up an appointment to learn how to get more involved (proden@uab.edu).

SECOND YEAR STUDENTS:

• Follow us on Instagram: @UAB_SYE and go to our website – www.uab.edu/students/housing/second-year-experience
• Email us with any questions: secondyear@uab.edu
• 1^st Event of the Year: Welcome Back Bash/ Thursday, August 30, 2018
  • Come out for free food and to learn about resources here for you as second-year students! Meet the academic colleges, offices and people here to serve you!
  • Hill Student Center | Ballroom A/B from 11:00AM - 1:00PM

SYE Engagement activities include:

• SYE Street Team: The Second-year Experience Street Team assists in the marketing and promotion of SYE programs, activities, and events to second-year students at UAB. Much of the success of our events can be attributed to word of mouth; therefore, students are essential in helping to advertise the programmatic offerings of the Second-Year Experience office to second-year students. This year, 17 students meet bi-weekly as a group and monthly as a one-on-one with the SYE Coordinator to continuously develop and best serve the needs of the department.  
• SYE Council: The Second-year Experience Council represents and serves as the voice of all second-year students at UAB. Council members make recommendations and act as a liaison to the Second-Year Experience office; this includes advocating for student needs and providing feedback on a regular basis. Additionally, the SYE Council assists in the development and execution of SYE programs, activities, and events throughout the academic year. This year, 11 student meet bi-weekly as a group and monthly as a one-on-one with the SYE Coordinator to continuously develop and best serve the needs of the class.
• SYE Global Learning Initiative: The Second-year Global Learning Initiative is designed to provide UAB second-year undergraduate students with the opportunity to gain experience enacting techniques and concepts in a global workforce. Created and implemented as a partnership between Residence Life and Career & Professional Development, a team of 5-7 UAB students and a team of students from The University of the Free State in South Africa will work on a relevant and timely global social problem. Focusing on the political climates in both countries and how those climates impact higher education, as a result of participating in the program student participants will: explore each other’s culture and teach it to one another, analyse and prepare a report on teamwork, and report out on the identified problem and how to solve it.
• SYE Mentoring Initiative: The primary focus of the SYE mentoring initiative is to support second-year students as they matriculate into their second-year at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Supporting second-year students on their road to independence and personal growth is essential. The purpose of this program is to empower students to seek assistance and to understand better the intricacies of being a second-year college student. Second-Year students who feel more connected to campus resources are much more likely to successfully transition and eventually graduate from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.