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‘Hello, Rose City!’ showcases PCC’s dedication to giving students the First-Year Experience

Story by James Hill

Lights. Camera. Action!

����TV’s First Year Experience was spotlighted by KGW’s “Hello, Rose City!” program earlier this month.

Dean of College Success Josh Laurie and new Student Engagement Manager Jana Daugherty discussed the initiative with host Lacey Evans. They talked about how it pairs students with a coach, receiving weekly text check-ins to share reminders, events and resources. Students can reply directly to the coaches for help with questions, forms, or campus navigation, they said. FYE is rooted in 15 years of Future Connect’s success, which has become a national model.

For a new college student, confusion over the financial aid process, or missing a registration deadline can become a roadblock that can lead to them leaving school. The First-Year Experience initiative links them up with a skilled and experienced coach, who helps answer any questions the students have and connect them to resources. The goal is to help students build confidence, find community and keep moving toward their academic and career goals.

“What first-year experience provides is that compass and that map for new students coming into the college,” Laurie said. “We’ve learned that when a student has a human who believes in them early on in their experience, a staff member who supports them, and that whole first year of communication about what they need, that the outcomes are going to grow,” Laurie said.

And students don’t need to sign up or seek out FYE; it comes to them.

“Students don’t have to know first-year experience exists,” Daugherty said. “They don’t have to apply in advance. Instead, we’ll seek them out.”

To learn more about how PCC supports it’s students, visit pcc.edu/first-year.