SOJC Seminar Course Offers Boost to Transfer Students

The class offers campus resources, professional opportunities and connections to alumni.

by McKenzie Leary, class of ’26

Annie Reiva smiles while sitting at her desk and talking to a student
Annie Reiva, an SOJC academic and career advisor, says she loves helping transfer students because they usually have a really strong sense of purpose. Photo by Jeremy Henkelman-Parker. 

Navigating a new university as a transfer student can be intimidating, but the UO School of Journalism and Communication (SOJC) strives to make the transition welcoming.

Every fall since 1999, the SOJC has offered the one-credit Transfer Student Seminar (JCOM 399) to help new transfer students acclimate. The seminar is the longest-running course designed specifically for transfer students at the SOJC. Held once a week for 10 weeks, it introduces students to campus resources, professional opportunities and connections to other transfer students and alumni.

“One thing we think critically about in teaching the class is how to plug students into our resources so they’re not finding out about them in their second year,” said Annie Reiva, an SOJC academic and career advisor who teaches the seminar. “We want them to know about these resources in their first term.”

The seminar highlights resources available campuswide and within the SOJC, such as financial wellness services, student organizations, gear checkout opportunities and professional development tools.

The seminar aims to give transfer students, who this term make up 11.4% of all SOJC students, access to some of the same opportunities that first-year students have on campus.

“First-year students have access to things like first-year interest groups,” Reiva said. “A lot of what we do in class is to try to meet that differential and honor transfer students’ faster timeline.”

McKenzie Leary gestures while talking to her transfer student advisor
McKenzie Leary, a transfer student studying public relations, talks with Annie Reiva, an SOJC academic and career advisor who teaches the Transfer Student Seminar. Photo by Jeremy Henkelman-Parker. 

Rachel Allen, the SOJC associate director of student services, said data show that on average, alumni who took the Transfer Student Seminar course progressed through their major faster than their peers, graduated with a higher GPA and received more job offers within a month of graduating.

The seminar also connects students with a large network of transfer students and alumni, which fosters peer connections and helps students build community.

Transfer students get connected with peers

Daniel Santoyo, a public relations transfer student, said the small size of the seminar made it easy to connect with other students.

“That’s what I liked about it,” Santoyo said. “The people I took the class with, we’ll always stop each other in the halls of Allen and catch up.”

SOJC faculty also play an integral role in supporting transfer students, Santoyo said. He transferred to the university unsure of what he wanted to do. In his first term, he prioritized going to his professors’ office hours, which helped him create close relationships with associate professors Dean Mundy and Hollie Smith. Mundy and Smith helped him find a sense of community and purpose on campus, reminding him to use his time in college to experiment and encouraging him on his path into public relations.

Advertising major Sophia Soleil, who transferred to the university from Hawaii Pacific University in fall 2023, shared a similar sentiment.

“When I first met Annie Reiva in my transfer student seminar, I was like, ‘She’s too happy, this has to be fake. There’s no way someone can be this driven to student success,’” Soleil recalled. “But she is, and that’s the majority of the faculty. That’s not something to shy away from, that’s something to totally utilize.”

The feeling is mutual. Reiva really enjoys working with transfer students, she said.

“I love having conversations with transfer students because they usually have a really strong sense of purpose,” Reiva said. “Even if they don’t know what they want to do after graduation, they have a sense of their professional values and motivations that I always find very inspiring.”

Sophia Soleil and other students look at a presentation screen out of frame
Sophia Soleil, a transfer student outreach coordinator in the Undergraduate Student Success Center, left, moderates a transfer student alumni panel that she organized. Soleil helps transfer students connect in meaningful ways. Photo by Jeremy Henkelman-Parker. 

Soleil is also an SOJC transfer student outreach coordinator in the Undergraduate Student Success Center. In her role, she helps transfer students connect in meaningful ways. One such event was a pizza party to connect current transfer students with members of an SOJC alumni panel that shared professional and educational advice.

Transfer students can take advantage of academic and career advising

The Undergraduate Student Success Center also supports transfer students through SOJC-specific academic and career advising. Advisors help transfer students make a graduation plan that fits their timeline, and they provide guidance on challenges that arise from the transfer experience.

“Most transfer students come to me with imposter syndrome and feelings of inadequacy,” Reiva said. “They feel like they’re behind and don’t have four years to figure it out.” To anyone feeling this way, she wants them to know the SOJC Undergraduate Student Success Center is “a friendly audience to bring your concerns to.”

Continuously improving the transfer student experience within the SOJC is a priority, Reiva said. That’s why she’s always eager to get feedback. “What can we do to better support them going into this next year?” Reiva said. “All feedback is welcome from transfer students.”

McKenzie Leary is a third-year public relations major in the UO School of Journalism and Communication, minoring in global studies. She is passionate about creating multimedia narratives, traveling and advocacy. McKenzie loves having the opportunity to share people’s stories and is also working on her novel.