Larissa Cioci

Esther Yang, Larissa Cioci, Catie Lenover, Amarice Manzerolle, Tony VoThe Natively Creative team won a trophy as the top performers in the Transform program. From left: Transform community leader Esther Yang mentored first-year students Larissa Cioci, Catie Lenover, and Amarice Manzerolle, pictured here with co-ordinator Tony Vo.

Program prepares students for university experience

During summer 2022, the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (FAHSS) launched Transform, its school readiness program for first-year students coming directly from high school.

Incoming students met in person or online weekly over nine weeks and participated in a series of fun interactive exercises that gave them similar experiences to being in class — conducting research, taking mock tests, and working on team projects. At the same time, the program gave upper-year student mentors an opportunity to gain leadership experience.