\u201cI can\u2019t tell you how many students every week tell me, \u2018I don\u2019t know what to do next,\u2019 \u201d Ganz says. \u201cYou never know what they might be going through. What they need most is a person to make the transition less intimidating so they can graduate in a timely manner.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ganz knows first-hand what it\u2019s like. She prefaces conversations by saying, \u201cMy own path is different.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of universities try to emulate our DirectConnect program, but it works here because students and coaches see it as more than a process. It\u2019s also personal.\u201d \u2014 Beth Ganz, academic success coach<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
After high school, she attended Palm Beach State College and then transferred once, twice, three times, eventually earning a bachelor\u2019s degree from Florida Atlantic University. Ganz never forgot what it was like to be a transfer student. It\u2019s why she accepted a position as an academic success coach shortly after DirectConnect to UCF welcomed its first students. Since then, she\u2019s advised thousands of transfer students, including her own son.<\/p>\n
\u201cI bring a \u2018mom\u2019 element into this because it\u2019s who I am,\u201d Ganz says. \u201cWith each transfer student, I think about how I\u2019d want my own children to be counseled through the obstacles they\u2019re facing.\u201d<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a misperception that the obstacles are always related to academics when, in fact, they\u2019re often related to life. Ganz is among a handful coaches who help transfer students navigate housing, paperwork, language differences, selecting a major, even general fear. They\u2019ve helped those same students thrive and go on to careers as doctors, nurses, executives in hospitality, engineers in the space program, business owners, and researchers and developers in the tech sector.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of universities try to emulate our DirectConnect program,\u201d Ganz says, \u201cbut it works here because students and coaches see it as more than a process. It\u2019s also personal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Haileigh Galloway \u201923<\/strong> graduated from UCF with a degree in psychology before landing a position as a clinical research coordinator at Nationwide Children\u2019s Hospital (NCH) in Ohio \u2014 the same hospital where she and her brother and sister were treated for medical issues as kids. Galloway sees her research at NCH as a big step closer to medical school and part of \u201cGod\u2019s plan for my life.\u201d<\/p>\nDo not believe, however, that the steps have always been perfectly laid out for Galloway.<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, I thought my path would be more direct,\u201d she says, \u201cbut I\u2019ve learned that education doesn\u2019t necessarily work that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galloway was homeschooled, earning an A.A. while dual enrolled at Eastern Florida. After accepting her high school diploma and her A.A., she entered a small private university to finish her bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d considered UCF my dream school for a long time,\u201d she says, \u201cbut my parents and I thought it might be too big for an introverted 17-year-old. As it turned out, the smaller college wasn\u2019t for me, so after a lot of praying I took the leap and transferred to UCF.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up, I thought my path would be more direct, but I\u2019ve learned that education doesn\u2019t necessarily work that way.\u201d \u2014 Haileigh Galloway \u201923<\/strong>, alum and former DirectConnect student<\/p><\/blockquote>\nLooking back at her steps, Galloway says it was easily the best decision because two things happened. First, she found a research opportunity at UCF. And second, she became a PeerKnight coach.<\/p>\n
\u201cI knew from my own experience what it\u2019s like to go from a smaller school to this physically imposing university,\u201d she says. \u201cBeing a coach made me a better listener and made me more empathetic because each situation is unique. Sometimes a student just needs to know they aren\u2019t alone before they\u2019re offered solutions. I really believe being a PeerKnight will make me a better doctor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Galloway\u2019s story points to the core value propositions of DirectConnect to UCF beyond guaranteed enrollment. Transfer students are given a clear path to graduation and a relationship. You\u2019d never suspect today, for example, that Baez Sola ever wrestled with either of those. Truth is, he was filled with angst. Shortly after enrolling at UCF through DirectConnect, he started working for ConeXiones, a peer-support program within DirectConnect. He also learned hands-on entrepreneurship through UCF’s Blackstone Launchpad and business practices through the university\u2019s Professional Selling Program. He\u2019s now interviewing for jobs well ahead of his projected graduation. He even has a new vision: to create a business and encourage people facing difficult questions on their own academic and life journeys.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to do for others what was done for me through DirectConnect,\u201d Baez Sola says. \u201cThe people in this program made me feel important when I needed that. They helped me find a network of friends and colleagues. They steered me onto a path of success. And I\u2019m sure I speak for thousands of others when I say they made me excited about my future.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The DirectConnect to 女仆AV program has created a personalized bridge for transfer students. With 75,000 bachelor\u2019s degrees awarded since 2006, it\u2019s a model for universities nationwide.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":57,"featured_media":135968,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"lazy_load_responsive_images_disabled":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":"","_wp_rev_ctl_limit":""},"categories":[54523,15992,5,6,27],"tags":[982,9144,1323,18102,202],"tu_author":[],"class_list":["post-143573","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-colleges","category-community","category-student-life","tag-college-of-sciences","tag-college-of-undergraduate-studies","tag-direct-connect-to-ucf","tag-student-success","tag-alumni"],"yoast_head":"\n
Paving the Way for Transfer-student Success | 女仆AV News<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n