Step by STEP
Step 1: The Decision
There is no better feeling in the world then finally accepting your intent to register to the college or university of your choosing. After four years of high school, all the hard work has officially paid off. However, soon after there are mixed emotions that cloud the minds of the emerging young adults once they have made their decision. On one hand, it is marvelous because you are going to a college that is hours away from the overbearing parents and rules. However, you are also leaving your life at home where everything was laid out for you. If you had a problem, you could turn to your parents and they would find a solution. When you depart to college you leave the comfort of your house, close friends, cozy lifestyle, and embark on a new chapter of your life. Although the benefits of pursuing higher education heavily outweigh the cons in the long run. The reality is that the first year of college either breaks or makes these young students. It is estimated that in the last twenty years, on average 10% of freshmen do not return to UC Davis for their second year (1). These dropout rates result from various reasons which include: being placed on academic probation, feeling homesick, and most importantly not having the proper social and academic support while attending UC Davis. All of the aforementioned obstacles have been overcome in the last couple of years by students, who are part of the STEP (Special Transitional Enrichment Program),
Step 2: Acceptance Requirements:
When I accepted my SIR to Davis, I was thrilled, I was finally going to leave home and be on my own. After choosing UC Davis, I was given a student portal that provided a list of potential orientation dates. None of the options were appealing, quite simply because they required cutting summer short. The first set of options ranged from as early June to late July. I was excited to embark on my college career, but quite honestly was extremely scared at the same time. Under the orientation options, I saw that there was another alternative for orientation labeled STEP that was scheduled for late August. STEP is a 4-week residential summer program that provides students with an early stable platform that facilitates the transition from high school to freshmen year of college. I realized that there was an application component to it, which I found quite interesting since the other orientations only required me to sign up. The application is used to weed out students who are or were part of Upward Bound, any UC Outreach program, or those that fall under EOP (Early Opportunity Program) status (2). These students have a very high chance of being accepted into the program. Summer passed quickly, I received the acceptance into the program near the end of June and I was ecstatic since I had prolonged my stay at home for almost two more months. There was no research further research done about the program, all that I knew was that it would act as a transitional month for me to become acquainted with my new campus.
Step 3: Leaving: Family and Fears
In mid-August on a Sunday, I arrived luggage in hand to the Tercero dorms, nervous as can be. My family drove me up to Davis and we were greeted with open arms by the Peer Academic Coordinators (PAC). I was directed towards my new home located in the Tercero dorms. After making sure I was settled, my family left in what can be best described as one of the most bittersweet moments of my entire life. For the first ever, I felt lonely. This heightened feeling of despair turned from bad to worse as I unpacked my electronics and waited for my new roommate. Instead of going outside and getting a grasp of the new environment, I opted to stay in the dorm feeling helpless for about 6 hours after my parents left. There was a knock on my door at around 7 pm; it was my PAC, Maritza, who had come to formally introduce herself. She informed me that her group of steppers would be having dinner together and that it was not mandatory, but she highly recommended that everyone go. There was no hesitation on my part; I walked outside alongside her immediately.
At dinner, with my new group, there was very little conversation as all 13 of us all sat together in the dining commons. Eventually, we all were forced to talk due to gradually being forced by Maritza through her various ice breakers. After this occurred, there was a sudden change in the atmosphere. Everybody seemed more likely interject their opinion on the topic being discussed. It was interesting, because all these people and myself had never met before, but we were already questioning our views on certain issues. My step group gradually dispersed back to the dorms. I returned back as well and found my new dorm mate, Harrison, a tall African American male. He asked “Did you choose a bed yet,” and I replied, “yeah the single bed on the left”. He said, “okay sounds good,” and then he proceeded to introduce himself after saying goodbye to his parents. Time went by and my loneliness started to disappear gradually. The early college experience started to grow on me. I started to enjoy being out at night, while still having a greater sense of responsibility for my actions. My life had finally become mine and it soon dawned on me that it was a new start. With all fresh starts, the need to make friends was imperative and that is what STEP allowed me to do.
Step 4: College is about fun.
Although the program is known for promoting academics highly, there was still a need for fun. The most notable events were the STEP Dance and Talent Show. The dance can best be juxtaposed to an atypical school dance where everyone proves that they truly cannot dance. The other major event is the STEP Talent Show. This event truly highlights the many talents of the steppers. It creates a space in which certain people are praised for their abilities, new talks are held and new people are met. Smaller events such as going out to go watch movies and eating together usually happened in the STEP groups. On specific weekends, there were always socials put together by the PAC’s such as dance, barbecues, and swimming pool parties. It was an adequate mix of both school and fun and it felt like my home away from home. During STEP, I was able to get extremely close to everyone in my group and I also met a lot of other steppers. It was an extremely valuable experience because it helped me feel prepared for my first year at UC Davis.
Step 5: Learning academics come first.
Evidently, the program does provide various settings for a fun way of networking amongst the steppers through the aforementioned events and socials. The most important component of the STEP program is that it prepares students for the academic level of UC Davis. Students quickly learn the difficulty of taking classes here at Davis through their pre classes. As the first week went by, I attended all the pre-classes that STEP provides. The pre-classes include English, math, biology, chemistry, and physics which are designated to the students based on their diagnostic tests. The classes are taken all throughout the step program on a daily basis. Professors administer midterms and finals, in order to fully simulate the academic agenda. Although the classes do not count towards the students g.p.a it provides them with a good assessment of how they will do in the fall quarter with real classes. This component of seeing ones’ ability is incentive enough to make the students try their best in these pre-classes. I myself took the advanced English class offered with Professor Fore. The class helped me realize that I would cope well with the courses here. Professor Fore commended me for my ability to fully describe the context of the story through descriptive text and he took the class very seriously which was extremely beneficial.
Step 6: Embracing the support network.
Along with these classes, the program also provides “skills development activities, along with intensive counseling and academic advising” (3). Austin, another PAC who happened to be walking by while I was in the lobby helped me through the class registering process. He took two hours of his day to thoroughly help me plan out my schedule for the quarter. Although we were the last group of students to register, there was nothing to worry about, we had four quarters of priority registration and so there were seats saved in all classes specifically for the STEP program. This alone makes STEP a pivotal program to join. There are multiple perks that come with priority registration. “Early registration ensures that they will be able to get into classes,” that steppers would not be able to get into because they are freshmen (4). Another reason this is a massive component of the program is because most students have a very little chance of getting into the desired general education and impacted prerequisite major classes (5). With priority registration, students are able to hand pick their schedule along with the professors they want. This heightens the student’s chances of excelling in their academics. The STEP program essentially provides the optimal platform to succeed. If any situation arises within the school year, whether it is an academic or social problem. The EOP office, which houses the STEP program, is filled with PAC’s who are always eager to help out in any way they can.
After the month ended, everybody had to go home for a week before coming back to move into the dorms. There was no desire to leave from anybody due to everybody having gradually become acclimated to UC Davis. In the first week of the fall quarter, my fellow peers were all trying to be acquainted with the campus, but not me. I knew where everything was and had friends to go explore the areas that I did not know. If I had any academic question, I could walk into the EOP (Early Opportunity Program), office and seek out help from Maritza or any other PAC there.
Step 7: Taking on your new life wholly.
When asked why is it that the STEP program makes the transition from high school to college simple for incoming students, Maritza, the current STEP coordinator responded very thoroughly. “I firmly believe that students have a misconception of what college is when they first arrive, they believe it will be similar to home where someone will tell them what to do” (6). She then proceeded to claim, that is not the case because, at this university, it is up to the student to decide if he wants to work on his assignments, turn in his homework, and study for midterms and finals. Sometimes things do not go the student’s way on the first couple of midterms and being discouraged is very common. This is where the STEP programs comes into play, not only are the students placed in the dorms early into their college careers, but they are also put on the road towards their eventual goals with a PAC to guide them. The PAC’s make sure their respective steppers are always on top of their grades by constantly checking in on them even after the summer program ends. They help the students register for classes, make them feel comfortable in Davis through various socials, and ultimately provide a support network that will help them get through various obstacles. The PAC’s have been through STEP themselves and that is why they work extremely hard to refine the program and make the students decision to apply worth it. STEP is a program that creates the right habits and puts students on the right path. There is very little room for error and that is why our program has and will continue being successful for years to come.
Step Seven: Enjoy life.
Evidently the STEP program provides pivotal support for students by helping them ease into the college life through their summer school simulation. Once the program is over, students arrive back in Davis when school starts and have a huge head start on their fellow peers. They know where to seek academic help and how to maneuver around Davis. Students are given the opportunity to immerse themselves into the campus that will be part of their lives for four or more years. The program shows students just how amazing UC Davis is. It creates an environment in which the likelihood of failing is very low, and if it happens, there will be people to help them get through it. The STEP program is an integral part of student’s life at Davis; the friends you make in the program eventually become housemates for some and lifelong friends for others. With a firm base on which to step on, the pathway to success is eventually reached one STEP at a time.
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The STEP program placed me in such a diverse group. The diversity helped me grow as a person because as a result of varying perspectives, I learned how to listen and consider alternative viewpoints. Another amazing benefit was the support these people provided me with; there was never a dull moment. I still call all of these people my friends and will do so for the rest of college and thereafter.
Works Cited:
(1) AAUDE RETENTION/GRADUATION SURVEY, 2015-16.” UC Davis Budget &
Institutional Analysis, 6 Jan. 2016. Web.
(2) STEP FAQS.” STEP UC Davis. Student Academic Success Center, 13 Apr. 2014. Web. 20 July 2016.
(3) “Student Academic Success Center.” Services. Early Opportunity Program, 3 Jan. 2016. Web. 22 July 2016
(4) “Editorial: Priority Registration.” The Aggie. The California Aggie, 16 Nov. 2010.
Web. 20 July 2016.
(5) “Enrollment Restrictions.” UC Davis Registrar. Office of the University Registrar, 20
June 2016. Web. 20 July 2016.
(6) Valdez, Maritza. “STEP Coordinator.” Personal interview. 20 July 2016.
Guillermo Campos 