El Paso Community College (EPCC) rolled out the welcome mat for newcomers at the First-Year Experience (FYE) Open House on the Valle Verde Campus, showcasing the services geared towards easing first-time college students into academic life, as reported on the EPCC news webpage. The event, tinged with a summer theme, offered a peek into the comprehensive support system provided by the institution's lauded FYE program.
New students and their families mingled with academic advisors, faculty coaches, and student mentors, all while enjoying the festive aura complete with music and food, an atmosphere designed to set a tone of readiness and excitement for the first year of college. The event, detailed by Rachel Rabb, Faculty coach and Counselor with the FYE, aims to instill discipline and furnish essential program knowledge from the outset, she explained, as per EPCC News. Attendees, whether straight out of high school or those returning to college after some time, were given the necessary tools to start with the "end in mind."
EPCC set up interactive booths, holistic advising, academic coaching sessions, and a fun photo scavenger hunt to engage attendees. Breakout sessions that delved into Financial Aid and Campus Life, alongside a Discipline showcase, provided resources that both informed and entertained. The college ensured participants left not only with useful insights but also with the possibility of taking home a prize, as door giveaways were a part of the day’s agenda.
Sandra Lujan, Coordinator of the EPCC First-Year Experience, accentuated the value of faculty engagement, "Faculty are a great source for the students, and they are the experts in their disciplines, so they are very helpful, and this is a great way to start off connecting with the students," she shared, as obtained by EPCC News. Looking ahead, FYE anticipates the inauguration of new offices, plotting a map for greater reach across campuses, with Rio Grande welcoming one in the fall, and a subsequent office opening slated for the Transmountain campus in the winter.
