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First-Year Residential Experience

Welcome to the First-Year Residential Experience (FYRE) Program at Ithaca College! The First-Year Residential Experience (FYRE) program is designed to make sure that you not only make it through your first year of college but that your first year is marked by success, friendship and learning. Housed in the Boothroyd, Rowland, and Tallcott Halls as well as East and West Tower, the First-Year Residential Experience is within walking distance to a variety of fantastic dining options, the academic enrichment office, the college library, the fitness center and a host of other opportunities.

Building community is the cornerstone of the Ithaca College First-Year Residential Experience (FYRE). The FYRE program also supports the personal growth and intellectual curiosity of all participants. The goal of the FYRE program is to foster an environment and offer programs/ experiences that will help you:

Develop a sense of connection in your residence hall and with the larger IC Community
Be fully engaged in the Ithaca College Experience
Achieve academic success
Be self-reliant
Appreciate cultural and other forms of difference
Practice civic engagement
Maintain a healthy and sustainable lifestyle

Faculty Fellows play a key role in the FYRE program. Fellows are assigned to each building with the responsibility of enriching the residential communities through leading programs and discussions, attending campus events, and providing information about academic resources. One of the most important experiences of college is to interact with faculty and having faculty fellows allows you to build that individual relationship. Academic Coaches are upper-years students who also play an important role by providing academic resources, programming, and coordinating study groups.

Additionally you will have the opportunity to meet and interact with FYRE staff (Resident Assistants (RAs), Residence Directors (RDs), and Faculty Fellows) who are available to help support you and encourage you to make the most of your first year of college. RAs sponsor a wide range of social activities to help promote a strong community, and are available to share their experiences and to answer your questions about college life. FYRE students are encouraged to actively participate in residence hall activities as they are designed to address social, personal and academic issues in the transition to the Ithaca College community.

How Do I Select FYRE?

If you want to live in the First-Year Residential Experience, please express your interest via HomerConnect and select your housing assignment on the dates designated for FYRE selection (see Summer Recess section of Important Dates). Students living in FYRE have the opportunity for two different housing options. Students can elect to live in a single room where they can have privacy when they want to, but be surrounded by their first-year friends, or they can live in a double room. Students who live far away from Ithaca can elect to live in Boothroyd Hall which is open over Thanksgiving, Spring and Winter Break (with the exception of the dates the College is officially closed between December 23^rd and January 2nd).

"Meeting other people in the residence hall who have a very different value system than I do has been great. I had to learn to respect them and understand that they are different from me."

The FYRE Is Growing

As a part of Ithaca College’s strategic plan, IC 2020: Focusing our Vision on Student Learning, the Office of Residential Life will be creating a more developmental progression of housing options. This progression will include a First-Year Residential Experience Program (FYRE), a sophomore year experience program, and apartments for juniors and seniors.

As a part of this plan the FYRE will be expanding over the next three years. Once the expansion is complete the program will have enough space to accommodate every incoming first-year student. Some of the key components of the program will include:

A focus on developing community as the cornerstone of the program
Faculty Fellows who provide opportunities for students to have individual interactions with faculty
Meaningful residence hall traditions
Increased levels of community building and social programs
Upper-years students who serve as coaches providing academic programs and resource information
An opportunity to engage with the local community through community service and visits to local attractions

953 Danby Road, Ithaca, NY 14850

Maintained by Bonnie Prunty · Updated: 3/26/2012 · Created using the Ithaca College Web Profile Manager

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