Harvard College Freshman Dean's Office: FDO Home

Message from the Dean

Dear Members of the Class of 2013,

Now that you are well into the term, I hope that you are able to find time to take stock. How are your classes going? Are there sources of support that you might be using? As you consider course selection in the spring, what lessons from the fall might guide you: big courses vs. small courses, writing-intensive courses vs. exam-heavy courses, familiar academic areas vs. new, unexplored disciplines, etc. How manageable is the mix you have created of academic and extracurricular commitments, and are there activities outside of the classroom about which you want to learn more? These are all good questions to take up with your proctor, academic adviser, peer fellow, friends, and family.

Sometimes, taking stock only happens when there are breaks in the schedule, for instance, the holidays. But remember you don't have to fill every term-time moment with activities or appointments. In planning real “down” time and allowing for moments of reflection, you may be creating the best chance for movement and constructive change in your life. Like one of those puzzles in which you try to rearrange little tiles, with numbers on them (to get the #1 in the upper left-hand corner, etc.), it is the empty space that makes the other squares maneuverable. Without it, the pattern can be fixed and not open to new permutations. Winter seems to allow lots of moments of calm, of pulling back. I hope that, in some of these moments, you find the means to recognize and respond creatively to the present circumstances of your lives.

I thank many of you for sharing your experiences with the Resident Deans and me to date, and issue a warm invitation to all of you to come to 6 Prescott Street any time to tell us how things are going, and how we can be helpful.

Sincerely,
Tom Dingman
Dean of Freshmen