As University of Virginia students wrapped up final exams and began heading home for the holidays, they took the time to reflect on the past semester.

On UVA’s Instagram account, students were asked about their favorite fall-semester courses. Submissions poured in with students highlighting engaging classes and how professors’ teaching styles transformed their classroom experience.

We selected a few courses to spotlight from a variety of disciplines around Grounds.

The Resilient Student: Transition, Thriving, and Leadership

More than one student spotlighted associate professor of public policy Tim Davis’ “The Resilient Student: Transition, Thriving, and Leadership” course.

For first-year student Lauren Coppins, she signed up in order to “transition into my first year at college and gain some useful life and leadership skills.” Not only did she gain new skills, but she found a new support network.

“We were able open up and be very vulnerable with each other, so it was awesome to build such a great emotional support network so early on in my college career,” Coppins said.

Biology major Tatiana Gold signed up for the course after seeing Davis speak at her summer orientation. After taking it, she said that Davis’ course helped her as a transfer student to UVA.

“I learned a lot about myself through this class, which was a very special thing for me, especially with a big transition like transferring,” Gold said.