As we head into the end of July, September is getting closer. If you’re starting UBC in the fall, you are probably feeling all the emotions that come with a new start – excited, nervous, anxious, and everything in between.
One of the best events for getting over nerves is Jump Start. Jump Start is three days of orientation and welcome events for students coming to UBC directly from high school held on both the Okanagan and Vancouver campuses.
Jump Start helps you to feel more comfortable being on campus and prepares you for your first semester at UBC. Students are assigned Orientation Leaders who work hard to make the transition easier for you. You’ll meet friends, get familiar with faculty, and gain confidence to ask for help when you need it.
At group of students at Jump Start Vancouver.
Get comfortable, meet new people
“I was like, ‘I’m nervous’. Everyone’s like, ‘we’re nervous too, but it’s okay, and we’ll be nervous together’. And it was comforting to know that everyone else was feeling the same thing that I was feeling,” explains Bachelor of Science student Deandra-Lee.
Deandra-Lee attended Jump Start Okanagan last year and had such a great time that she was inspired to become an Orientation leader this year. As a student from Jamaica, Jump Start was a chance to get comfortable and meet new people.
Deandra-Lee the summer before starting her first year at UBC.
“A few students and I got lost and we couldn’t find our Orientation Leader, and this other Orientation Leader came over to help. She was really friendly, so funny, and she was also black, so that made me feel a bit more comfortable. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, another black person, another person of colour’. Just seeing a black woman in a leadership role and doing it so well was inspiring. She was one of the reasons why I wanted to become a Jump Start leader as well.”
A way to make close university friends
Olivia is a second year Applied Animal Biology student, from Surrey, British Columbia, who attended Jump Start Vancouver last year.
“Jump Start is the way I made a majority of my friends through the first semester, and through them I made even more as the rest of the year went on. Many of the people I still am connected with are those who were in my Orientation Group, as well as my Orientation Leaders.”
Olivia on the Vancouver campus.
Deandrea-Lee says similar about making friends.
“Jump Start helped me develop a lot of friendships and my closest friends are the people I met at Jumpstart. The activities and experiences we shared brought us together and helped us bond.
And just getting to know familiar faces made things easier on campus.
“Maybe I’d only had a quick conversation with them, or seen them a couple of times but after Jump Start I’d walk into class and see a familiar face. I’d think to myself ‘Wait, I know this person…but from where?’ Then it would hit me out of nowhere, they were a part of Jumpstart. Even if we hadn’t become close friends, just seeing a familiar face helped me feel more comfortable.”
Lots of events to help you feel at home on campus
Jump Start offers a mix of organized events to learn about the campus and faculty – campus tours, faculty Q&As – and socializing events to hang out and get to know one another.
One of Olivia’s favourite events was Faculty Feud.
“I really enjoyed the Faculty Feud event, which was the primary way we were introduced to the faculty and their roles. It made the information we were given easier to remember, since you had to use it in the game. As a very competitive person, I really enjoyed that event. It also helped our orientation group bond and get even closer with one another.”
One of Deandra-Lee’s favourite events was the campfire and s’mores.
“After a long day of walking and getting tours, I felt like it was a nice way to wind down. I got to hangout with the friends that I’d made throughout the day and connect with them, just by making bracelets, eating s’mores, and talking with them. It was just really nice to relax, get to know each other better, and start building friendships.”
Olivia also stresses how helpful Jump Start was for getting comfortable on campus:
“Jump Start was a great transition for university life. It has helped me get more comfortable with the campus, make friends and connections easier, and more willing to reach out and use resources when I need them. If I had not attended Jump Start, I know I would have been a lot more scared coming into the first semester, and would have been apprehensive about approaching others.”
Residence and commuter options
Jump Start offers a residence stream for students who will be living on campus, as well as a commuter stream for those who will be commuting. Both Olivia and Deandra-Lee were part of the commuter stream.
“I did the commuter option at Jump Start and I thought it was very helpful. It helped me get familiar with campus and to know what university would be like as a commuter student. I was able to learn about the different accommodations on campus for commuter students like the collegia. I used that space a lot last year, spending time studying in between classes or just relaxing and taking a break,” explained Deandra-Lee.
Advice for students starting UBC this fall
On advice for students entering UBC this fall, Olivia stresses that first year students should take time to enjoy it and that everything will work out.
“Enjoy it! Your first year is a time for exploration and freedom, so let yourself have those experiences! Don’t be afraid to reach out if you ever need help, so many people are willing to help and answer questions. Everyone else in your classes is also just starting out and will want to make friends, so initiate those conversations and start to form connections. First year isn’t always easy, but work to build a strong support system and remember that things will work out.“
Deandra-Lee emphasizes the importance of being comfortable with discomfort and advises new students to take things one step at a time.
“ When I started at UBCO, I was kind of nervous, but academically, I had everything planned out. I knew what classes I wanted to take, what I wanted to do in the future , my degree,everything. And now I don’t know what I’m doing anymore, and I feel like that’s okay. I’ve learned that its okay to change your mind or be unsure, its okay not to have all the answers right away. University is a period of growth and one big part of that is learning to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.”
She also says:
“It’s totally okay to be nervous. It’s totally okay to be afraid. You’re going to do so well in university. You’ll make so many friends and even if those friendships don’t happen right away, it’s totally fine. It takes time.”