and handed her a flyer about the Talent Gateway initiative, Tudor said she decided to try it out. The senior is now the president of a student organization and a research assistant, and has just finished an internship. “I couldn’t find my stride here. I wanted to contribute and excel, but I wasn’t sure how,” said Tudor, a junior. “Then Laurie asked me to consider checking out the Talent Gateway. It changed everything for me. I don’t view difficult or mundane things negatively. I look at the opportunity within them.” The Talent Gateway, launched in fall 2016, is a web-based gameful learning platform where students earn points toward an M-Talent distinction, which is an honor noted at graduation and on official transcripts. Within the Talent Gateway’s virtual community, students interact with learning modules, engage in discussion boards, identify resources and collaborate with mentors. “Talent Gateway challenges are opportunities for students to creatively reflect on and leverage what they are already doing in class, at home and at work, giving them a com- petitive edge as they hone their creative problem-solving skills,” Sutch said. “Students choose which challenges to pursue. Because the program is web-based, students can do challenges any time, anywhere.” The challenges—which include items like eating lunch with someone you don’t know, joining an organization and doing a mock interview—gave Tudor a new view of her university and of herself. “My grades improved, and pro- fessors have commented on how I carry myself differently,” she said. “I did well in a job interview and my internship adviser later told me that she admired my level of professionalism. Because of the Talent Gateway, I’m no longer drifting along. I’m focused. The Talent Gateway showed me that anything can be a growth experience.” Stay the course. When Claire Lareau was in first grade, her teacher paired her up with a special-needs classmate to help him with classroom tasks, reading and social development. “I didn’t think anything about it. He needed help and I was happy to give it,” Lareau said. “When I got older, my mom shared with me that my teacher had said I worked well with him.” Today, Lareau is a freshman pursuing an elementary education degree with a focus on special education. She wants to get back into the classroom to help those with developmental needs. And Lareau—who is taking 15 credit hours her first semester and plans to take classes year round—wants to do it as quickly as possible. For students like Lareau, UM-Dearborn offers a Fast FOURward Scholarship initiative to encourage students to reach their graduation goal sooner. The scholarships are one com- ponent of the Fast FOURward program, a new initiative from the Office of the Provost. Fast FOURward’s path to a degree in four years comprises a 15-credit-hour course load per semester combined with working fewer than 15 hours a week. Those who commit to more than 12 credit hours a semester also get a tuition break of nearly $100 per credit hour. Additionally, students who take 24 credit hours in the fall and winter semesters are eligible for a scholarship to offset the cost of taking courses in the summer. This past summer—the first year the scholarship was available—466 stu- “My grades improved, and professors have commented on how I carry myself differently. I did well in a job interview and my internship adviser later told me that she admired my level of professionalism.” BONUS! You chose to take 15 credit hours this semester,saving nearly $100 per credit hour. | 11