The First-Year Student Showcase, hosted by UNCA’s First-Year Experience, evolved from a LANG 120 essay contest to a celebration of first-year student work. Originally The Gudger, named for former UNCA professor Peggy Jo Gudger, this event is an opportunity for students to showcase their creative and scholarly work through multimodal presentations and displays for an audience of peers and instructors.

The showcase expanded in Fall 2019 to include student work in HUM 124 and FYS 178. Then, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020, we shifted to an online celebration. Fortunately, in Fall 2021 we were able to revive the showcase in-person for the first time post-quarantine!

The multimodal compositions you’ll find on this site were nominated by faculty and students and represent the variety and depth of the work students create over the course of their semesters in LANG 120, HUM 124, and FYS 178. These creations include individual research, group efforts, and whole-class collaborations.

Thank you for helping us celebrate not only the students this site recognizes, but also the first-year instructors who dedicate their time and energy to their students, every day, all semester.

Cheers!