“We want to give freshmen a laid back area where they can come and just be themselves. The sooner they realize that being in college is the first step in creating their careers, the better.” – FYC Interim Director Nicole Stroobants

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee opened the First Year Center (FYC) on Sept. 7 to help freshmen who feel lost, pressured or overwhelmed.

The FYC is a new program under UWM’s Access to Success program that strives to help new freshmen and first-year students become better acquainted to the campus, the people, and college life. Access to Success is a campus-wide initiative designed to help students explore the different activities one can pursue to better achieve success in college.

Drawing from the most successful elements of the Peer Mentoring Center, a past Access to Success program, the FYC’s purpose is to reach out and connect to every new student in order to help them be successful at the university.

Organized by Interim Director Nicole Stroobants, the FYC connects with school ambassadors and mentors who helped new freshmen get oriented and registered over the past summer. They give their time to aid new students in starting their college career, while also creating a student-to-student connection between freshmen and upper classmen.

“Information is more likely to stick better from student to student,” says Stroobants.

One event the FYC offers is a class meeting, which is arranged by a professor who feels a certain aspect of help should be emphasized.

In the meetings, a group of first-year students come to the center and student leaders, mentors or ambassadors give tips on study habits, budgeting money and meal plans, time management and networking systems.

One-on-one meetings are also encouraged. Any student can come in and ask for assistance, whether it’s directions to, or information for a campus facility, ways to ease the pressure of the high school to college transition, knowledge about campus activities and services, or to simply come and hang out.

“We’re acting as role models,” says Stroobants. “We want to give freshmen a laid back area where they can come and just be themselves. The sooner they realize that being in college is the first step in creating their careers, the better. We are here to help them understand that.”

With numerous scheduled events for the upcoming month of October, the FYC welcomes interested students to visit the center and participate.

Located in Bolton Hall, room 192, the FYC is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays and Thursdays, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Fridays.

“Though we’re not here to counsel, we are here to make sure students receive everything they need to survive,” says Stroobants.

“The FYC is a place for them to learn about other people and their school and to just be themselves.”

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