Student Spotlight On UC Santa Cruz Freshmen

Abigail and Daniel, members of the DTS College 2022 Class and freshmen at UC Santa Cruz, are successfully navigating the enormous transition from high school to college life.  Living away from home, increased academic rigor, and time management are just a few of the challenges they were prepared to tackle by participating in our transition to college programming.  Now officially college students, Abigail and Daniel will continue to receive holistic support from DTS, primarily through weekly one-on-one check-ins with our College Access and Success Counselor.

These check-ins also provide an opportunity for DTS to evaluate its transition to college programming, and, as we recently learned from Abigail and Daniel, our curriculum is making the impact we anticipated it would.
In their own words….

On the importance of making connections
Daniel:  Finding friends is the key to becoming comfortable.  Finding one good friend or getting to know your roommate makes the transition easier.  There’s a radio station on campus, and I was really interested in it.  I went to an event and found a lot of people that share my interest in music.

Abigail:  I quickly met people in my classes, but a lot of the friends I have are from my summer program, called JUSTICE, where I spent a week at UC Santa Cruz.

On feeling prepared
Abigail:  DTS helped me know what to expect in college.  When I felt sad when my family dropped me off I knew that this was normal, and I wasn’t shocked.

Daniel:  DTS taught me how to recognize my emotions more easily.  Understanding why I feel a certain way is good insight into myself.  For example, if I’m feeling overwhelmed I can figure out why.  Maybe I need to change how I’m managing my time.  Scheduling chores during the day, like laundry, cleaning your space, doing homework all require me to make the time.  Maybe I need to get together and communicate with my roommates because we live in a shared space and have a responsibility to each other.