Dear new Bryan Hall resident,

Welcome to this LEARNing community!

As you know, our emphasis is on curiosity and the desire to learn. In November 2007 we celebrated this learning community's tenth anniversary, and I encourage you to make the very most of your own first year as a university student.

One way you're doing so is by enrolling in one of the six in-house Liberal Studies courses we have scheduled during your fall semester; there will be six others available during your spring semester, and you will also enroll in one of them. Whatever your major, those six credits will help form a strong foundation for your entire experience as a Florida State University undergraduate.

During the fall, you'll also participate in our weekly Colloquium, which will count as 1 hour toward graduation. This series helps you see, first hand, what research and creative work are like for faculty members as well as for students. Many former Bryan Hall residents have told me how very much they've appreciated this opportunity to meet and talk with some of this university's most interesting, most highly respected professors. Ask yourself: among the thousands of first-year students at Florida State, how many are going to be a part of this series? (The answer is 128, and you are one of those 128 residents.)

Another question you might ask yourself is whether there really is such a creature as the ideal Bryan Hall resident. The basic qualities you know: curiosity, yes, and certainly the desire to learn. Through your own curiosity, you'll get to meet and become friends with quite a range of first-year students here within this small, diverse community. For Bryan Hall residents, it's important to be a well-rounded person, and so you will have opportunities for involvement in service as well as social activities.

Looking ahead, your first year at Florida State might seem like a long expanse of time. Looking back on their year in Bryan Hall, however, many residents have marveled at how quickly the year goes by. Make the most of it, and you will see for yourself the huge step you've taken, from being a high school student to being a part of this major research university.

I look forward to working with you.

Dr. Dennis Moore
Faculty Director
Bryan Hall LEARNing Community