After Orientation...What's Next? (Transfer Student Edition)

Are you an incoming transfer student to CSUSB? If so, this episode is made specifically for you! You attended your new student transfer orientation, but do you remember everything? Do you know what happens next? Do you know the upcoming important dates? Do you want tips for success? Well, this episode helps prepare you for starting at CSUSB!

Join special guests Megan Huston Orientation and First Year Experience and Brittiny Dennis from the ASUA Academic Advising Office!

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Transcript

Matt Markin  
Hello and welcome to episode 90 of the CSUSB Advising Podcast. My name is Matt Markin, an academic advisor in the ASUA Academic Advising office. Today's episode focuses on incoming transfer students to Cal State San Bernardino. So are you a new student to CSUSB? Hopefully you learned a lot from orientation, but maybe there's some things you want a reminder on. Maybe you're interested in knowing what happens next, or tips for success. So let's chat with some awesome individuals that you may have met or seen at orientation. Let's first welcome and say hello to Megan Huston, the Orientation Senior Program Coordinator from Orientation and First Year Experience. Megan, welcome.

Megan Huston  
Hi. Thanks for having me, Matt. 

Matt Markin  
And let's also welcome from the assume Academic Advising Office. Brittany Dennis, academic advisor and academic advising Orientation Coordinator. Hey, Brittany. 

Matt Markin  
So I'm going to throw this first question out, and I'm assuming both of you all have some great advice for this. You know, students are transferring from community colleges and also other four year institutions. You know, how would you describe CSUSB to students?And maybe the differences from where they were previously at to coming into Cal State San Bernardino, so not sure who wants to start first.

Brittiny Dennis  
I'll go ahead and start off a long time ago, I actually was a transfer student from a community college, from Victor Valley Community College. So right off the bat, I personally noticed large differences. Obviously, the institution is much larger, and with that, sometimes it can feel a little bit confusing, where to navigate, where to go, because it's a completely different system that you're not used to. So right off the bat, kind of understanding the breakdown at community colleges, it's one college, and you have some different departments, and within it, here at CSUSB, we have the university itself, and then it's kind of broken down into colleges depending on what your major is. And then within that college, you have the different departments, which is typically a department of your respective major. So there's kind of a breakdown of the hierarchy at the university, as well as all the vast resources. Since our campus is pretty huge, sometimes, you know, depending on what resource you need, might be a little bit challenging at first to know exactly where to go however. You know, at CSUSB advising is a really great place to start, because we're kind of like university navigators, where we're helping connect students with the resources that with what they need, as well as helping them along the way and creating a plan, an academic plan, for their time here. So I guess that would be a large difference that I noticed.

Megan Huston  
I think there's two notes for me so, and I think this especially for students who are transferring from other four year schools, again, depending right, um, but I think you'll learn and and find that so many of our students are from this area, and I think that adds a cool element, because I think there's a lot of pride, but a lot of drive in CSUSB serving our regional area, and students who then come here, I think committing to staying in this area and helping better The Inland Empire. And I say that because, you know, we have students who transfer from Arizona, from Washington, from there was a student coming from Ohio last month. And so I think it's just, it's a really cool factor that you don't necessarily see in a lot of schools, but I think it's a point of pride here, and I think you'll see that, and I think it's a fun and just kind of unique element about us. And I think because of that, CSUSB has just a lot of really ingrained opportunities, whether internships or research or volunteerism in the community, because of that connection that we have. And I think that's cool, and I think pretty unique here. And so for students coming from, I think other four year schools, I think you'll see just a little bit of a different regional drive around who we are and who CSUSB aims to be in our community. I think for all students, I think Brittany tapped on some really good things, especially in terms of resources. Is just part of it, is the challenge and finding the resources, knowing that we have them, but where and how do I find them? Because there are so many to your advantage, which is definitely a challenge, but know that there is somebody here to help you, and even if you start at the wrong office, someone's going to get you to the point of, hey, this office, we might not be the best. We can get you some answers, but hey, let me walk you over to the next best person, and I think we again pride ourselves in being able to ensure that we are providing you every opportunity to find support and help in whatever way that you need. I think the other cool thing for transfer students, in particular, that you'll find when you walk on campus is our students are all across the board in terms of. Of where they come from, who they are, their stories and how they got here. And I think especially for transfer students, we see a lot of adult reentry students. So like, hey, you know, I put my first kid through college already, and now it's my turn. And I think a lot of our older students really struggle in trying to find, like, I'm going to be hanging out with a whole bunch of 18 year olds. I think you'll end up with a lot of classes with students who are in the same boat that you are. And again, I think that's a really cool element about who our transfer population is. And I love seeing that. I love hearing our transfer student stories, and that, you know, how they ended up here, and it was my turn to finish my degree, or, you know, it's better late than never. So I'm starting now, even though I'm 55 and I love being able to hear those stories. So I say, especially to our adult reentry students, please know that you are not the only one. There are lots of students who share that experience with you, and I hope you find those spaces to connect with them like please know that you're not alone. It is never too late, and that you'll find a place here as well.

Matt Markin  
Awesome. Yeah, they're definitely very diverse campus that we have here at CSUSB and with our incoming transfer students, you know, they've attended orientation, you know. So we're very happy that they've chosen CSUSB. They're going to be here starting in the fall semester. But, you know, they had a certain a day of orientation. So can you maybe recap for those are like, you know, I went to orientation. I remember there being a lot that happened. It's a whirlwind, yeah? Kind of give a breakdown of, you know, what was the day in the life of a student at orientation?

Megan Huston  
So transfer orientation is pretty jam packed. It is, it is one full day, but is a full full day, I think, first and foremost, starting off in the morning, getting connected to your orientation leaders, with your pack, who you're hanging out with for the day, which I think is really important. You know, as we talked about at orientation, your packs are done very intentionally. So it's folks who are going to end up in some of those same classes that you are because they are in the same major. And so hopefully it was an opportunity for you to start making those connections, if it's people you had never met before, and that you may have enrolled in the same classes with them at the end of the day, and that you have some familiar faces come that first day of class in August, right in the morning, we jump right into a whole lot of content again, around those resources and people and departments that we want you to know. So we talked through some of our health and safety resources, I would call them. So we talk about student conduct and ethical development. We talk about policies and things that you need to know as a student at CSUSB, while you were coming from student while coming from campuses elsewhere, just know that there are some different policies that drive how Cal State operates. So we just needed you to know a little bit about those things our expectations of you all as students on this campus, but also what you expect from campus in return, and how we take care of our students day in and day out. We talked through again some of those health and wellness pieces. So we talked through basic needs and student support, an amazing resource that I would definitely call out time and time again, again, as we know, you know, regardless of what your life circumstances are, life gets hard sometimes in the middle of the semester, and so our basic needs team is an awesome resource to know whether it is you find yourself in need of housing, if you are facing food insecurities, financial insecurities, our basic needs team is an amazing resource that can support you and provide Some of those short term emergency resources and or connect you to further resources for the long run through our lunch rotations, we also spent a lot of time talking about Financial Aid and our Student Financial Services team. So as you'll hear me say that I've heard me say the whole money cycle here on campus, but the two offices that you really need to know in terms of having all your financial grounds covered here at Cal State, so both from Financial Aid and from Student Financial Services. And then the afternoon is all things academic. And so Brittany is one of our familiar faces that you'll recognize, but the entire afternoon is driven around academic content. So which college you're in, which major you're in, or which program you're in, and then, of course, your day finished in the computer labs, registering for classes, with the goal that when you walked away at the end of the day, you had your fall class schedule in hand or on your phone and accessible for you, and you're ready to rock and roll for August.

Brittiny Dennis  
Yeah. Now this kind of piggyback off of what Megan was talking about so with the advising piece about the second half of the day, students receive a lot of information. And you know, just as Megan was mentioning, we know it can feel much like a whirlwind, but you're getting oriented to Cal State San Bernardino, you know, we don't expect you to be experts on everything. CSUSB, expert on what your major requirements are like on day one, you know your first orientation day. So you know going into that, knowing, I know it can feel overwhelming, but just know orientation is a day to get you introduced, and there's continues to be help along the way beyond orientation. So in the advising piece, after lunch or so, you went into a general advising presentation where you really learn, kind of like the nuts and bolts the foundation of general academic advising. As far as what your graduation requirements are, you know, differences between, like GE and major classes, getting you familiar with more academic related resources to help you along the way, learning how to navigate the different academic tools that you'll be using throughout your time here, such as the pause report, road maps, the my cap, which the my cap, you'll typically learn or start using that after orientation more either yourself as a student or alongside an academic advisor. So really the nuts and bolts, and then after you receive the general advising from an academic advisor, then that's when you moved on to the department presentation that is more specific to what your major is, and that's where you'll learn a lot more information regarding your major. And then after that, you went into the computer lab, so utilizing that information that you learned from the general advising and your department specific advising session to now put that into practice to getting enrolled into your classes for fall term, but even after the computer lab, you can still reach out to your advisor. You will be receiving an email, or you may have already received an email from your specific advisor, encouraging you to schedule an appointment if you do have follow up questions, or even utilizing our advising drop ins for those general advising questions. So again, orientation is to get you oriented and introduced to information here at CSUSB that will help you get a strong footing. You know, at the start of your academic journey here at this institution, however, you're learning about the resources that you will continue using along the way beyond you know your orientation day.

Megan Huston  
I appreciate that, Brittiny. I think that's an important note is, again, it's a full day, and if we spent time talking about all the resources and all the services that existed, you would be here for three or four easy right? And so Brittiny, I appreciate that, like orientation is not intended to be everything all at once, because we know nobody's brain can reasonably hold on to that. Either, our goal is really to introduce you to the critical things that you need just to get started, and then use the semester to really explore and find the things, or not even the whole semester, but you have the next, you know, however many weeks we have left until the semester starts. Whenever you're listening to this is use the next couple weeks to start exploring, and use that time to poke around and find those services that might be of use to you. So come the middle of semester, when you hit the struggle bus, or just, hey, I'm I'm having a hard time in this class, you know, the resources that already exist. So Brittany, I appreciate that definitely an introduction, but certainly not end all be all to everything that we have to offer.

Brittiny Dennis  
Yeah, and by the time a student attends orientation, you probably have a month, or even more than a month, to reach out. And you know, have any questions that you feel like a rose that maybe you didn't know that you had a question to during orientation, and you kind of sit down and process that information, you can still reach out. There's plenty of time to reach out and get those questions answered before you actually get started in August, when fall term begins. 

Matt Markin  
And did students also receive a like a handbook, or anything that they could also refer to?

Megan Huston  
Yeah, so the handbook that you received at orientation, I think, is also a great thing to poke through before the semester begins, as that is definitely a continued introduction to a lot of those resources, a lot of those folks who don't even present at orientation, necessarily. But the handbook, again, was created as a way to introduce you to those departments. They've outlined services they offer, how they can be of benefit. So definitely spend some time clicking through that handbook as well. Whether the the hard copy that you got at orientation, it's on our website, on the orientation website, I would definitely spend some time poking through that and again, bookmarking some of those spaces that might be a resource or a benefit to you. Again, for whatever scenario you find yourself in, or whatever population you're a part of, explore those spaces and how those folx can can serve you.

Matt Markin  
And then, Brittiny, I think I'll throw this question to you, because you're mentioning about like an academic advisor, and you're an academic advisor yourself. And then students you know, got to register for class at the computer lab, but let's say students like, well, I registered, but now maybe thinking about, I want to change my major, or I want to change the classes that I registered for during the computer lab session. You know, can I still change my classes? And then, you know, can you talk about, maybe more about what an academic advisor can help a student with?

Brittiny Dennis  
Yeah, so academic advisors here on campus may play similar roles to what a counselor played over at the community college. So what we typically help students with is understanding your graduation requirements that are listed on your paws report or the program advising worksheet for students, so making sure that's clear, because that really is like your contract with the university on what you need to complete in order to eventually receive your diploma in whatever degree it is. So we really want to help students understand that, and we can help them co author their own customized plan, which is the my cat, the myCoyote academic planner that you'll use more after orientation, after you have your first set of classes, because what you get enrolled into for fall will determine what you have remaining. And an advisor can help you plan out maybe even spring term for the whole academic year, or even if you sit down and have follow up appointments. Because again, during a 30 minute appointment with your advisor, we're gonna want to first identify what are your needs that you need in this this moment, and we can continue to have follow up appointments to answer any other questions that you have along the way. And you know, 30 minutes, we may not be able to plan out your whole academics here, but that's why we have follow up appointments, so we can continue having that conversation and I and tweaking your customized plan according to what your specific needs are, or if there are any changes, such as as Matt was asking about, is maybe during computer lab, you have your classes, but something changed along the way, and maybe a couple of classes are no longer working for you for that time frame or whatnot, and you're wanting to explore what other options you have. That would be a great opportunity for you to schedule a follow up appointment, if you feel like you need that one on one appointment for 30 minute long session to have those deeper conversations with your advisor. Maybe if you're worried about you know, what does this course load and unit load look like for me and my own personal needs? Because we know it, you may feel a little frantic or stressed in a computer lab to grab up whatever classes that you had, however, now in a space with academic advisor, you can ask those one on one questions or concerns that you had, so we can kind of see, okay, what are your options? What is your schedule really looking like? What courses are still open, and how can we make those adjustments or talking through, what are your areas of strength and areas of improvement? And you know, maybe if you have a lot of classes together, that for you may seem challenging to take a lot of specific classes together, maybe we can help you balance and blend that class schedule a little bit better, because an academic advisor helps you plan out your courses and kind of exploring who you are as a student as well. We help you navigate university policies and procedures and getting you connected with the resources. Say a lot of students, their area of improvement is math. Math tends to be one of those subjects that may not come easy to a lot of people, and we have a robust tutoring for that, typically in fall and spring terms, even sometimes during other sessions. So you know, if an academic advisor is identifying that that's an area of improvement for you, we're going to try to get you connected with that resource and having these discussions along the way, because our job is to help you be as successful as possible. And we can give you all the information. We cannot tell you what to do. So we provide that information, provide that guidance. So you take that information and you get to decide what is best for you, but we can definitely help you plan along the way and tweak it as needed according to your specific needs. So we have an academic advisor, and each student has an assigned advisor, and you could see that on your student profile, and you can always connect with us, or if you have, like, a really quick question and you just need general advising, that's where we have our advising drop ins with our wonderful peer advisors that can answer those quick questions like 15 minutes or so. And then if you needed a follow up, one on one with your advisor, you can go ahead and either give us a call, you know, schedule the email that they had sent you, or, you know, even schedule with the peer there if you need further assistance.

Matt Markin  
And I think this kind of leads into this next question based off your answer, Brittiny, and this for both of you is, you know, finding that balance. You know, we have a lot of students that that work, whether they're working part time or full time, or they have two jobs. What advice do you have for students or like, you know, I want to take class. I want to be able to try to graduate in a timely manner, but I also have work. I have other responsibilities outside of school and work. Any advice you have for students trying to find that balance?

Megan Huston  
That's a tough question, right? And I think it's tough for a couple of reasons. Number one is, everybody's case is different. My hope for you, whoever you are, is that you are in a space, that you have a position, you have a job, you have a manager who also supports you pursuing your education, right? However, I also know that's not real talk for everybody, and you're just, look, I have a job because I need to pay the bills, and that that's real life. So I think for me, my my it's not even a recommendation. My encouragement to you is, keep your goals at the at the forefront. And you know, I've talked to students every year who at orientation, you're like, Well, my manager's gonna my manager's gonna work with me. And then they get to October, they're like managers not working with me anymore. So, you know, I quit because schools are more important, and I want to make that work, and I want to figure that out right again, recognizing that is not everyone's capacity and life often determines what your abilities are, but I think it's keeping your education, or whatever your goals are at the forefront. I think for students working full time, it's, you know, acknowledging and being able to prioritize and make space for what those things are, right? Working full time, obviously, that is a big commitment. Doing school is a big commitment, and it's understanding that, as much as we all love making sacrifices in life, is that it's also going to come with those sacrifices of hey, I really want to do this thing on Saturday, but I've got three midterm papers to write, and so I think it's it's keeping those goals in mind, prioritizing accordingly and what your life parameters allow you to do. But I think in the same spaces, don't sell yourself short on the opportunities that are here. Still get connected to campus. There are still plenty of ways that folks can support you, and, you know, help you get to those goals, right? Your advising team, the other support services here on campus. And so I think using all of those things in combination is my advice.

Brittiny Dennis  
Yeah, and you know, when it comes to balancing everything, because a lot of our students are non traditional students. So we understand a lot of the time, when we're speaking with students as an advisor, that they're probably working, you know, and sometimes a lot of those students come to us and say, Hey, I have a work schedule that's, you know, X, Y and Z, and I have to plan courses around that. So, you know, as Megan was mentioning, that sacrifice, right? Sometimes students will come into appointments and say to an advisor, well, tell me what's the easiest course to take, you know? And we can't always answer that, you know, since every student's circumstance is unique, and you come to college to be challenged, and through that challenge you grow. And college is a big sacrifice, and a lot of students are trying to incorporate, you know, their academics, which is a huge responsibility. And as a lot of our students are first generation students, adding on that component of you're learning how to navigate college yourself. You're the first in the family. You don't have someone maybe to go to guidance to directly. You know that, you know, but just know, a lot of our staff on campus is first generation. A lot of our staff on campus is Latinx or Hispanic as well. You know, a lot of our students may come from low income backgrounds, so we understand there's a lot that students are facing challenges wise when they come to CSUSB, and we have resources available to help students. We just have to kind of know during those advising sessions, what are some of those challenges that you're facing? So we can get you connected or provide our guidance. Of course, as Megan had mentioned, kind of, it's like, it's not one size fits all. We really have to have those one on one conversations to see what is it that you feel like is not working. So we can provide that suggestion, but the student has to, you know, make that attempt to reach out to that resource if they're really needing that help. The good thing is, though, coming into a four year institution such as CSUSB, if you already came from another four year institution, or you're a community college student, you kind of have already had that experience on, how do I balance my academics, my personal responsibilities, my work responsibilities, and being honest with yourself, you know throughout that time period that you have been doing that what did not work and what worked, what worked, continue building on that what did not work, be realistic and see what changes do I really need to make in order to be successful as much as possible here at CSUSB, and, you know, kind of being honest, maybe with an academic advisor, and seeing Okay, what did not work for me, and I don't want to continue making that, or are there improvements maybe that I can make. But a lot of times we learn through our mistakes, and we kind of have to take a moment to take a step back and reflect on what mistakes did we make, and kind of think through, okay, what's the plan going to be from here on out and stick to that plan, see it through, and then make changes along the way. Because just as you took courses during one term, you had to kind of adjust accordingly, whether it was studying your organizational skills. That's the same thing. That's the same skills you have the foundation already. You have the skills to be successful here at CSUSB. You just have to make adjustments along the way, just like anything in life, really, you know you have to strive to improve, but just being honest with yourself and making those taking those small steps forward to improve so you can be successful here at CSUSB.

Megan Huston  
I'm going to add something that's going to come at, kind of come out of left field, but I think Brittiny, as you were talking about, is just making those adjustments of like, hey, this worked. This didn't at my last school, and this is what I learned. I think one thing that often throws people for a loop, and this is mainly for students transferring from community colleges, because most of you, most folks are going to community college that's around the corner. Brittiny started at Victor Valley, right? And then all of a sudden, now I have an hour and a half commute down the hill to come to campus. And so my you know, our class plus 15 minute drive to and from, is now an hour class plus an hour each direction to and from. And so I think while yes, you understand the time commitment of school, there's the new level of again, depending where you're coming from, but that new level of just getting to and from campus is a new level of commitment that you don't necessarily think about until you realize like, Oh, dang, I need to leave an hour and a half before class starts, because traffic, because parking, because all the things that you didn't necessarily have to think about at Crafton or wherever, because, again, smaller campus, it was likely not far from where your job is or where home is, that I think folks often, I think, surprise themselves, and that's a tough lesson that first week of class, especially. So I'm gonna throw that out there that is very out of left field. I out of left field, I realize, but I think it's one of the things that I think, especially our transfers like really get thrown for, is not also doing that part of the planning of, Hey, boss, I need to leave not 20 minutes before class starts. Now I need to leave a full hour before class starts, or I'm never going to make it on time.

Brittiny Dennis  
Yeah, and that kind of just got me thinking back when I was, what were some of the things that I was doing? Because that definitely, you know, the hour and a half hour that you're in traffic, like, what could I have been doing during that time period? And just thinking back, you know, if your professors are okay with you recording the lectures, I highly recommend, instead of listening to music, to listen to those recorded lectures when you're on your commute, so you can kind of utilize that time as much as possible. That was something that was really useful for me, especially during those time periods where it's it's coming down to midterms or finals, and you're kind of needing just to review that information. Of course, you don't want to be driving and reading your notes or any of that. So I recommend, maybe instead of a audio book or podcast or even music, listen to that recorded lecture.

Matt Markin  
All great advice. And earlier you both were mentioning some of the things that students can maybe do, you know, during summer or even during their first semester at CSUSB, connected to that? Are there any important dates or, like, a checklist of items that you think a student should be doing leading up to their first semester during their time at CSUSB? 

Megan Huston  
Totally. There is an important dates page in the handbook. I think it's page eight. And now that I don't have it in front of me, I'm pretty sure it's page eight. So an important dates page in the handbook. It's one of the early pages, and I definitely encourage you to reference that it has some of those important timelines, namely, when tuition is due, August 15, you know, the first day of classes. Obviously, if you're in Saturday classes, it is Saturday the 24th if you're in weekday classes only the first day is Monday, August 26 I think it's keeping that in mind. I think it's also, again, as we talked about some of those tips of kind of strategizing your semester. Are you commuting? Have you purchased a parking permit? Are you using public transportation to get to and from campus, in which case you need a physical student ID card to get that free access. So I think it's it's setting yourself up and strategizing what your semester looks like in between the due dates and the timelines and all those things. But I think the most significant date is tuition is due August 15. Don't miss that deadline, as you may be dropped from your courses, and we would really hate that you did all this work to get here, and then, you know, end up losing those classes because you paid a weekly so I think that's the most significant deadline to keep up on. Other deadlines are mentioned in the handbook, like the end sexual violence training, which isn't due till the end of September, if you've not submitted your immunization records to the health center so your MMR and Hep B immunization records, those are due like mid October. There's no posted final due date, but it'll impact your spring registration. So if it's not been done yet, I say just take care of it as soon as you're done listening to this podcast, and that way it's one less thing for you to have to worry about mid semester. I think those are the ones that stand out to me. I'm sure Brittiny, you have more to add.

Brittiny Dennis  
So for academic wise, just reiterating, Saturday classes begin August 24 and then if you have regular classes like Monday through Friday, that begins August 26 so just knowing exactly once you finalize your schedule, when is your first day of classes for you. Census date is the last day to add or drop a class. That is September 23 so students have about a month to try out their class schedule. So say you wanted to try out six classes. You know maybe you typically take five classes or whatnot, but you decided to increase the unit load, the course load of your classes for your first term at CSUSB, again, throughout the the term, you want to be re re evaluating where you're at and making adjustments as needed. So if you attempted six classes, maybe in fall, and then a couple weeks in, you're like, Hmm, this seems like a bit much. Maybe I want to go back to five classes, but still maintaining that 15 unit, you know, to ensure a timely graduation. Maybe if you want to scale back to just five classes, then utilizing that census date to, you know, drop that class, because that is the last day to add or drop a class. So if you drop the class before census day, you can easily do that through your student portal. However, if you don't drop that class before census date, then you have to go through a petition process, and it's not guaranteed that you will be approved to be able to drop that class. So really utilizing that census date and reevaluating where you're at and then trying to think if there's anything else, but again, go back to your important dates page on the handbook, as well as the office of the registrar has on their website, important dates that I highly recommend you bookmark, just so you're aware of upcoming. We know you just got started in fall. However, once you get started in fall, spring, registration is right around the corner. So I highly recommend, early on in the term, that you start meeting with your academic advisor to start seeing, you know, a check in. How is fall going? Do you have questions, concerns, as well as, okay, what's the plan going to be for spring? We know during orientation, you had to get enrolled into classes that were currently open. However, spring is a great opportunity for you to plan ahead and to really plan out those ideal courses that you would like to take in spring. So as soon as you're able to register, you can scoop up those classes that you would prefer to take in spring. Um, I think that's pretty much it as far as important dates for me.

Megan Huston  
I have one more add, and this is as your schedule allows any of the capacity to is if you have the opportunity to come to campus between now and the start of the semester to find where your classes are, just again orientation was a lot. We took you to several buildings, but we know it is all a blur, and so especially once you have your class schedule in hand, is spend some time actually familiarizing yourself with the campus layout, knowing where your classes are, knowing, hey, this is my best parking lot option based on where my classes are. And just again, I think there's a lot of stress around just like I'm gonna get lost I can't find things again. Campus is larger than a lot of, you know, other institutions, and so if you have the opportunity, I definitely recommend familiarizing yourself with just the physical span of campus. If you have the ability, I'm also going to throw out there that on Friday, August 23 is a large event that our camp, our office is hosting, called the coyote experience. And part of it is just, you know, hey, fall semester starts in a couple days. Here's, like, the official kick start to it all. And but there's other, you know, fun things going on. But that might also be an opportunity for you to just wander, take your class schedule, find those buildings, find those classrooms, and again, just calm those nerves and anxieties prior to the first day.

Brittiny Dennis  
Yeah, and kind of to add off of the orientation office as well. During like, the first week of classes has like, pop up tents that say, ask me. So if you get to campus, you're like, you know, you're kind of, like, unsure where to go. If you see a pop up tent that says, Ask me, go and go and ask. Like, if you don't know where a building is, and, you know, you got caught in traffic, and you're like, you know, trying to hurry off to class, just ask and we'll have someone there that can answer those, those general questions as well, and refer you to the proper direction of where you need to go.

Megan Huston  
Yeah, they ask me. Tables are staffed by campus volunteers, so faculty staff the. Orientation leaders and folks so and it's not just Hey, where's this building, but it's Hey, I never bought a parking permit. Where do I go? Or, Hey, where's the nearest vending machine? I need a caffeine and everything random in between, we've gotten lots of random questions. So don't feel like you can't ask anything or it only needs to be something specific. Ask away. That's why we're here.

Matt Markin  
Well, a lot of great information. Congratulations on being admitted to CSUSB and getting through orientation, and we look forward to you starting here in the fall so Megan and Brittiny, thank you so much for your expertise and your advice today. 

Megan Huston  
Thanks y'all. Welcome to CSUSB, everybody. We're excited to see you all.