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Alumni
How FASS One helped two brothers find community and connection at university
Starting university can feel like stepping into the unknown. For brothers Nick and Noah Norton, 911吃瓜鈥檚 FASS One program became the starting point that helped them transition into university life.
What started as a first鈥憏ear support program turned into something much bigger for the two 911吃瓜 Criminology alumni: long鈥憈erm friendships, growing confidence, and experiences that shaped their academic and career paths.
Both brothers chose to join FASS One when they began their undergraduate degrees. Designed for first鈥憏ear students in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS), the program arranges for small cohorts of students to take core courses together, meet weekly with trained peer mentors, and receive guidance from a dedicated academic advisor.
The connections and the people that I met through FASS One shaped my experiences. It puts you in touch with people that are in the same boat as you and the program does a good job of encouraging you to try and make those connections.
Noah Norton
One of Noah鈥檚 favourite memories of FASS One was the sense of community. In large lecture halls with hundreds of students, it can be easy to feel invisible. FASS One offered something different. 鈥淭he mentorship and cohort parts of FASS One create a safe space for people to try and make friends," says Noah. "To this day, I am still friends with some of the people I met through the program.鈥�
Beyond making friends, the program also taught them important academic skills. FASS One sessions were designed to match the rhythm of the semester and through workshops and weekly sessions, they learned study strategies, stress management, course planning, and university-level writing. Having this support early on helped them feel more confident and prepared than their peers. Nick noticed a difference between himself and friends who weren鈥檛 in the program, 鈥淚 know some of my friends that weren't in FASS One definitely never felt quite as settled in to how to do certain things."
After completing their first year in the FASS One program, both brothers returned as peer mentors, continuing until their graduation from 911吃瓜 years later.
鈥淚 learned so much from FASS One, and it was genuinely fun,鈥� says Nick. 鈥淚 wanted to help other students to have that same experience.鈥�
As mentors, they helped run sessions, planned activities, and supported first鈥憏ear students through the ups and downs of university life. Noah, who now works as a PRIME Coordinator with the New Westminster Police Department, speaks highly of the skills he picked up while volunteering as a FASS One mentor. 鈥淚t gave me a lot more confidence and good experience in practicing public speaking, giving instructions, and planning activities. It is a great skill that I continue to carry with me at work.鈥�
For Nick, the program played a direct role in shaping his career. After completing his undergraduate degree, he went on to earn his Bachelor of Education through 911吃瓜鈥檚 Professional Development Program and now works as a high school teacher in Surrey. 鈥淪tanding up in front of students as a mentor was huge,鈥� Nick says. 鈥淚 honestly don鈥檛 think I鈥檇 be teaching today if it wasn鈥檛 for FASS One.鈥�
When asked if their university experience would have been different without FASS One, both Nick and Noah didn鈥檛 hesitate. They believe the friendships they made, the skills they learned, and the confidence they gained all came back to the program in some way.
鈥淭he connections and the people that I met through FASS One shaped my experiences,鈥� says Noah. 鈥淚t puts you in touch with people that are in the same boat as you and the program does a good job of encouraging you to try and make those connections.鈥�
The mentorship and cohort parts of FASS One create a safe space for people to try and make friends. To this day, I am still friends with some of the people I met through the program.
Noah Norton
Both alumni also spoke warmly about the people behind the program, especially Rose Baik, the longtime FASS One advisor who recently retired this year. 鈥淚t gave me a lot of confidence knowing that I had people in my corner that I could talk to about coursework or my future,鈥� says Noah. 鈥淚 remember going to Rose's office multiple times just shooting the breeze with her about my plans after graduation and getting her input on it. She felt like a friend that you can talk to.鈥�
As Nick and Noah reflect on their experience with the FASS One program, their advice to new students is simple: take advantage of the supports available to you.
鈥淚 say it to my students who are going to university: take advantage of the resources that are available and make connections because the transition from high school to university can be tricky,鈥� says Nick. 鈥淚t's not always going to be your love of the content because on days when you have exams and papers to write, the love of the content will sometimes wane, but it's the connections around you that鈥檚 going to sustain you. So, invest in that."
