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First Year Experience

Freshmen Success Stories

Jessie Petersen went to college right after high school to become a nurse. While living in the residence halls her first year, she learned a lot about herself and who she wanted to become. She struggled with school and figuring out how to manage her time. She also struggled with knowing what her professors wanted from her. Jessie’s first semester she decided to take Anatomy and Physiology along with other classes. Not knowing how to study efficiently or how to manage time well, she had to drop the class because she was failing. Disappointed, she continued with her other classes and signed up to take it her sophomore year. With lots of hard work and studying along with regular meetings with the Office of First Year Experience, she passed the class with an 82%. “Failing a class doesn’t mean it’s over. It just means you have things to work on and you have to figure out what you have to do to pass. Don’t be afraid to try again. College is about making mistakes and growing from them. Also, don’t be afraid to ask for help from professors or peers, they are more than happy to help.” “Your first year of college you start to figure out who you are as a person, who you want to be, who you don’t want to be, and you learn who you want your friends to be. It’s okay to make mistakes and fall down. You’ll learn from your mistakes and become a better person; everyone does it. That’s what college is about, trying new things and finding who you are as a person. Don’t be afraid to try new things and if you fall, get back up and try it again or try something else.” Jessie just recently took the entrance exam to get into the nursing program. Unfortunately she did not make it into the program. Even though she didn’t make it in, she’s still determined to become a nurse. Jessie will continue to take classes towards nursing and try to get in the program in the spring. “It’s not over until you want it to be over. I want to become a nurse so I’m going to keep trying.”

Jesse Perez was a first generation student from a small rural town in New Mexico and moved with his family to Colorado Springs in 1999. Jesse’s dream of earning a college degree began early. In junior high school, Jesse became involved with various college preparation programs such as Peak Education and the Pre-Collegiate Development Program whose mission is to prepare and guide students toward higher education. Through these programs Jesse became very familiar with the UCCS campus and was even able to earn college credit while still in high school. When it came time for Jesse to choose a college he wanted to stay in Colorado and toured several campuses including both Colorado College and CU Boulder but finally chose UCCS. He was admitted with the Governors Opportunity Scholarship which funded the majority of his educational expenses through his entire undergraduate program. As an undergraduate student Jesse worked as a UCCS student employee for the Multicultural Office for Student Access Inclusiveness and Community (MOSAIC) as the Mentorship Program Coordinator and also worked at the Oral Communication Center as the Lead Peer Mentor. Jesse’s passion is helping students succeed and he is always looking for new ways to be involved and connected to campus. Jesse has held various leadership positions in clubs and organizations on campus such as his role of President of the Student Diversity Council. Jesse attributes his success to student support services such as the Office of First Year Experience and the MOSAIC office. Jesse graduated May 2011 with a BA in Communication, a BA in Geography and Environmental Science and a minor in Pre-Law. He is currently working on his master’s degree in Student Affairs in Higher Education through the College of Education and he hopes to continue his work in Colorado higher education. In addition to working on his graduate degree Jesse continues to work for MOSAIC and is now the new Assistant Director of the Oral Communication Center and also teaches public speaking recitation here at UCCS.

Kelsey Miller has always had a strong work ethic, and has excelled academically and athletically. However, halfway through her junior year in high school, she was diagnosed with epilepsy. The rest of her junior year and senior year were a blur because of hospitalizations, increased numbers and severity of seizures, and numerous medication side effects. Kelsey’s dream of going away to college vanished. She was not even sure that she was going to get through high school. In spite of the medical issues and with the support and motivation of her parents, Kelsey applied to UCCS because it was close to home where she and her parents could continue to gain an understanding of her medical diagnosis. In an effort to improve my health, Kelsey simplified her diet and stopped eating foods containing dairy and gluten. She started feeling great and could focus on the future again. Kelsey wanted to experience college and has been able to achieve these goals at UCCS. Kelsey is very excited about her major – nutrition. She looks forward to understanding how nutrition affects health. Kelsey still lives at home with her parents, but has participated in several involved with campus activities, which allows her to feel like she is part of the college scene.

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