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FastStart: Spring, 2007 Newsletter
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(written by members of the FastStart Student Advisory Group)

This issue includes:

Senior Spotlight: Jennifer Velasquez
FastStart's Spring Events
Giving Back Over Spring Break
In the Words of First-Year Students
FastStart Advertisements

Questions
We welcome your comments and questions. To get involved, call 814-863-6386 or e-mail FastStartInfo@psu.edu .

In Their Own Words: 2006-2007 First-Year Students
By Wendy Shi (Sophomore, Business)

This year we thought is would be nice to ask our first-year students to share some of their experiences. Below are three accounts from current FastStart students who are ending their first year at University Park.

Stephany Alvarez (Freshman, Agriculture)

My name is Stephany Alvarez, and I’m currently a freshman. I decided to be a part of Faststart because I thought it would be a good experience to have two mentors guiding me through my first year at college. One of my mentors is a faculty member/graduate student here on campus and the other works at Columbia University and is a veterinarian. My dream career is to become a vet and so my alumni mentor has been extremely helpful in providing me with information on how to accomplish my goal.

I have attended a few of the events hosted by Faststart throughout the year including the student orientation where I met many other new students. I also attended the banquet at the end of fall semester where I had the chance to meet a few of the faculty members. I like getting to know faculty members and asking them how they became who they are now and what kind of obstacles they faced. They also provided me with good advice about surviving my college years. This semester I attended the Ice Skating Social at the ice rink on campus which was a lot of fun and gave me another opportunity to meet students involved in the organization. At that social, I started getting to know the students on the Advisory Board which made me want to become even more involved with Faststart. I think Faststart is a great organization that has been very helpful to me, and I would like to be able to help future students adjust to life here at Penn State.

Rachel Davis (Freshman, Agriculture)

I have really enjoyed my experiences with the FastStart program. I became a member of FastStart in the fall of 2006 and have participated in holiday dinners, a cookout, an ice skating party, and a number of other events. One thing I have really enjoyed about FastStart is the relationship I have formed with one of my mentors. My mentor, Lori Johnson-Vegas, has become a second mother to me. She has tried really hard to help me with my transition into college. She has invited me to spend time with her and her family outside of FastStart events and has offered to help me by taking me to the airport and offering to write me letters of recommendation. I have been to her house to celebrate her son’s birthday and have also gone to church with her. I think I have gotten more out of FastStart than others who have either never met their mentors or just do not do things with them. I would love it if someone else could have an experience similar to mine.

I have enjoyed my experience with the program so much that I have decided to continue to be a part of it next year. Also, since other members have not been able to benefit as much as I have, I feel like I have a lot of ideas to offer and share with others to help improve the program. This will also be a great chance for me to meet more people. Being in FastStart is one of the ways I have become better oriented with the Penn State community. I am from South Carolina, and this campus seemed huge when I first arrived. I had no idea how I was going to get around. I thought it was impossible to walk anywhere, and I had fears of being late to everything. But FastStart helped me quickly get over these fears. I have been able to hear stories about other people’s academic and social experiences and have had conversations about ways to make this giant campus seem much smaller through networking. The FastStart mentoring program is designed to help students get off to a “fast start” and one that is stress-free. Through mentoring and social events, students can network, learn how to get involved, get great advice from alumni and older students, have fun, and learn how to make their overall college experience a successful one. I feel like the program helped me do just that.

Unique Parker (Freshman, Communications)

My experience as a Faststart mentee this past year has been great. I really enjoyed the programs that FastStart had to make my first year on Penn State’s campus as a minority more welcoming. I thought that the program followed through with its mission to make first-year minorities feel welcomed. FastStart made be feel that I was a part of a group when I arrived on campus. I also met some of my fellow classmates from the FastStart programs.

The FastStart welcome ceremony that took place in the fall semester introduced me to some programs that Penn State had such as the Angel Web site. If I did not learn about this Web site from the orientation, I would not know where I would find my assignments. I also benefited from FastStart providing me with alumni and faculty mentors. I still communicate with my mentors via e-mail. Overall, the FastStart experience for me has been a wonderful one.