On November 19, President Wooten virtually met with parents to discuss what makes the Simmons student experience unique. The event was moderated by Kate Innes, Director of Undergraduate Admission, with panelists Amy Staffier, Director of Financial Aid, and Kathleen Kuhnly, Admission Counselor.
As a parent to a college student herself, President Wooten understands that the college process takes a village, so it’s normal for parents to be more involved. Parents are matchmakers — as their child starts to narrow down their college choices, they should consider co-curricular activities, culture, curriculum, and their child's career and/or graduate school.
All these considerations are a transformation for greatness.
Key Takeaways from our Webinar on November 19
High impact learning and PLAN curriculum
Project-based learning, deep thinking learning, learning that bridge the liberal arts and professional education. A hallmark of our high impact learning practice is The Simmons PLAN: Purpose Leadership ActioN. In each phase of the four-year curriculum, we have signature learning experiences: The Boston course, The Leadership course, The Simmons course, The Learning Community, 3D: Design Across Diverse Disciplines, and Capstone Experience.
Beyond the classroom
Learning is life-wide. We learn inside the classroom, we learn from our 70+ clubs and organizations, and we have a robust and active athletic student body.
Faculty-student relationships
Every student and alumnae/i talks about several professors that made a difference in their Simmons experience. Whether in classrooms, during office hours, honor seminars, or working on research projects. Our faculty really cares about their students — they are passionate and foster impactful relationships.
Developing student leaders
Students come to Simmons because they are already leaders. While at Simmons, they learn how to amplify their voices and translate words into action. It can be in community service projects, tutoring, or internships — we have a wide variety of platforms for students to exercise these skills.
We also have the Passionate Leaders Project, which supports students seeking to enrich their academic and professional interests and develop critical leadership skills by funding learning opportunities beyond the boundaries of the traditional classroom.
Culture of inclusion and social justice
Simmons was founded on the principle of inclusion, so it is embedded in our DNA. Throughout our history, Simmons students have been at the forefront of social justice movements.
One Simmons
At Simmons, spaces make a difference. Students will spend four years living and learning on campus, so we’re thinking about the current state of our spaces and envisioning the future. Five years from now, we have made the investment to have a One Simmons campus — a state-of-the-art, vibrant campus where students can live, learn and develop friendships.
The Library and Community Reads
The library is an iconic central space on our campus. We love books, and reading is an integral part of who we are at Simmons. We’ve recently launched a series of Community Reads, which is designed to engage our community intellectually and provide a dedicated forum for critical discussion and the thoughtful exchange of ideas and perspectives.
The arts
From our large student dance company to our on-campus Trustman Art Gallery, the arts are embedded in everything we do. Beyond the Simmons campus, our Fenway and Boston location is a great backdrop to pursue the arts.
Preparing students for meaningful life’s work
Our perspective is an integrated approach. At Simmons, when we talk about life’s work, it’s not only about students’ professional careers, but also about serving their communities, engaging civically, and even what personal goals they want to achieve.