WKU News

A group of freshmen are getting a head start on their studies at WKU this summer. Nearly 50 students are participating in Summer Start, a five-week program that allows first-year students to become acclimated to college before the fall semester begins. Students receive a well-rounded introduction to academic and social life by living on campus, taking college courses, engaging with professors, meeting other first-year students, and learning effective ways to utilize student resources.

Derek Olive, Director of Continuing and Professional Development, said the overall goal is to connect students to WKU and teach them a skillset that will help them be a successful college student.

“We give students the opportunity to network, learn from other students and get peer, faculty and staff mentors,” said Olive. “Mentorship is one of those things that you can’t force, but if there is a connection, it’s great. These students get an early start by earning 6 hours of credit. A lot of our students say they were prepared for their first semester by going through our program. They felt like it gave them an opportunity not to be so new when the fall semester first started.”

Olive said first-year students in the program will have the opportunity to build a strong academic advising link before that first full-time semester begins in the fall.

Incoming freshman Megan Watson from Louisville, Ky., said she decided to participate in the program this summer because she wants to get a head start after taking a gap year between high school and college.

“I want to get to know campus before everyone else gets here,” said Watson. “Summer Start is giving me a good idea of how college will be as far as the workload. Even though I’m taking real classes for credit, I feel like this is sort of a test run before the real thing.”

Kevyn Heckler, a sophomore from Louisville, Ky., who participated in Summer Start last year, said that she highly recommends the program to incoming freshmen.

“It was a great experience,” said Heckler. “Going to Summer Start inspired me to work harder during the rest of my freshman year. I would think to myself, I can do this. I can push myself a little bit harder. I did this in Summer Start.”

For more information on Summer Start, visit www.wku.edu/summerstart.