First-Year Launch
Admitted Students

Students will connect to their new home in Durango by learning about local history, traditions, and favorite spots. Activities may include trying local coffee, visiting a trail, attending community events, finding a favorite study spot, connecting with campus resources, and creating a personal Durango guide.  Build relationships with your peers and fall in love with our community.

The Earth inspires us! Each week, we will experiment with different visual media to capture the natural world around us, and you’ll create a piece that showcases an example of how Earth’s tectonics have affected humanity. No artistic experience is needed – we will focus on exploration, growth, and creativity!

FYL Course LAC Linked

In this launch course, we will spend much of our time trying new teas. While we have our weekly tea parties, we will also spill the college tea. In other words, we will talk about all the things you should know to be successful in college.

FYL Course LAC Linked

College is a place where you will meet people with many different backgrounds, experiences, and ideas. In this course, we explore how curiosity and active listening can help us understand one another and build stronger connections. Through conversations, reflective activities, and collaborative projects, students practice skills such as asking thoughtful questions, listening with empathy, and sharing personal stories. We will explore how these skills support academic success, strengthen group work, and help students communicate effectively with professors and peers.

If you enjoy meaningful conversations, learning about others’ experiences, and building skills that will help you throughout college and beyond, this class is for you.

This Launch class is your chance to get your hands dirty working behind the scenes on an FLC Theatre Department Production. Students will learn new skills working in the Costume and Scene Shops. No previous experience necessary! We'll be preparing two Fall productions - a musical Ordinary Lives, a musical and A Midsummer Night's Dream! Students will enjoy building relationships with their peers as they are mentored by theatre faculty and learn theatre skills.

Join us as we explore new places around the world and cost-effective ways to get there. Students will pick a destination, research what they want to see and how to get there and create a budget for a two-week trip to the place of their dreams.

Students will build community and resilience as first time college students through engagement with their Indigenous languages. Classes will include cultural demonstrations, storytelling, and panel discussions from current Indigenous students on what connects students to their cultures and what motivates them to learn their languages. Current students will share heartfelt stories about how and why they learn their languages. Students will find that they can use their language in any space!

Learn how to make the most of your college journey by starting with yourself. This course combines self-awareness, career exploration, and life design to help you make intentional choices during your first year. You’ll explore your values, strengths, and interests, connect with others, and consider majors and careers—not as fixed destinations, but as possibilities. This is about learning how to navigate decisions, embrace curiosity, and author your own story.

Learn how to make the most of your college journey by starting with yourself. This course combines self-awareness, career exploration, and life design to help you make intentional choices during your first year. You’ll explore your values, strengths, and interests, connect with others, and consider majors and careers—not as fixed destinations, but as possibilities. This is about learning how to navigate decisions, embrace curiosity, and author your own story.

Learn how to make the most of your college journey by starting with yourself. This course combines self-awareness, career exploration, and life design to help you make intentional choices during your first year. You’ll explore your values, strengths, and interests, connect with others, and consider majors and careers—not as fixed destinations, but as possibilities. This is about learning how to navigate decisions, embrace curiosity, and author your own story.