Hello, Hoo Friends! 👋
We are excited to kick off our Schools of Enrollment Spotlight Series. 🔦 Over the next couple of weeks, we will share interview results with points of contact from each of our schools and the College where students are able to transfer, providing insight directly from the source about what each area offers and what they believe is important for you, our transfer-interested friends, to know about who they are!
We want to make sure to thank each of our representatives for taking the time to talk with us and provide invaluable knowledge, so we can share it with you! 👏
And now, the College of Arts and Sciences...
1. Can you briefly introduce yourself and your role within the College?
I’m Eric Bredder and I’m excited to take on a new role within the College this academic year as the transfer student success coordinator. In this capacity, I’ll be working with departments, advisors, and transfer credit evaluators to help understand and improve the transfer student experience in the College. I also serve as an Instructional Designer in the Learning Design Technology program, where I support STEM faculty and help manage the computer-based testing center pilot. I’ve spent the majority of my career teaching STEM fields and educational technology, including engineering, woodworking, electronics, and instructional technology. I've taught at the middle school, high school, and community college levels, as well as undergraduate and graduate education courses focused on engineering and pre-service teaching. I also helped build the Industrial Electronics program at PVCC, partnering with industry and universities to expand opportunities for students. My four years as community college faculty give me firsthand insight into the student experience, which now informs my work supporting transfer students. I'm excited for the opportunity to leverage these experiences to strengthen how the College supports our transfer students.
2. What makes our programs unique compared to similar programs at other institutions?
One of the things I love about the College of Arts & Sciences is that it offers the resources of a large flagship university alongside the close-knit feel of a small liberal arts college — a combination that's genuinely hard to find elsewhere. With 55 majors across the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences, students have the freedom to pursue what genuinely interests them, not just what looks good on paper. Our interdisciplinary and smaller cohort-based programs mean academic life here comes in many flavors.
What I'd really want transfer students to know is how much hands-on learning is woven into the experience here — running an experiment in a lab, recording a podcast, collaborating with a faculty member on research, or diving into an internship or capstone project. This kind of learning-by-doing is where I've seen students discover what they're truly capable of. My advice to every transfer student: find a way to learn with your hands, not just your notes. That's where the joy of learning occurs.
3. How would you describe the College's culture and learning environment?
Culture, to me, is about how we support students in the space between "not knowing" and "figuring it out." Our general education curriculum is built to give students real breadth while they build genuine depth in a major. We want them developing judgment, thinking for themselves, and learning to act with purpose, even when the path isn't clear yet — and that's where the growth happens.
That growth doesn't happen in isolation. It happens through conversations with peers, mentorship from faculty, co-curricular experiences, and students choosing to try something new. And the opportunities are everywhere here — roughly 1,800 students complete an internship or career-related summer job each year, about 1,400 study abroad, and countless others land paid research positions working side by side with faculty.
4. How does the College support student thriving?
Transfer students arrive with something the College truly values — real-world experience, hard-won accomplishments, and perspectives shaped by their previous institutions. That diversity makes this community richer, and we want them to feel that from day one.
That support starts early. During Wahoo Welcome, transfer students connect with their prospective major departments through departmental open houses — a chance to meet the people who lead their program and start feeling like part of the department right away. From there, every transfer student has an advisor in their corner, helping them navigate course selection and find ways to get involved that fit them. And thriving here can look like so many things — excelling in the classroom, performing on stage, leading a student organization, or giving back through public service. Really, it comes down to what a student wants to pursue, and we're here to help them get there.
5. What are some UVA traditions or resources that transfer students should get to know?
There's so much to love about being a Hoo, and I want every transfer student to feel like this is fully their community too. I'd encourage them to explore everything from world-class athletics to the creativity of our makerspaces and music studios, to programs that help you design a life you're excited about after Grounds. At the heart of it all is a community of brilliant, curious people who genuinely want to learn from and with each other.
I also want new transfer students to know about the support built specifically for them. In addition to their pre-major or major advisor, there's a dedicated team of transfer advising deans who support students through academic or personal challenges and connect them to resources around Grounds like CAPS, Student Health, and the Transfer Support Team. Students also have access to student success coaches and peer-led learning, a student-driven STEM academic support program.
6. What is your go-to Bodo's order, and where on Grounds would you eat it?
Double egg, cheddar, muenster, everything bagel. Ketchup packet. Garden on top of Rouss and Robertson Hall.
