WHY WE LOVE OUR JOBS

I began working at Arcadia University in 1991 as the inaugural Director of Multicultural Affairs, Gateway/Act 101Counselor/Coordinator of the Summer Program. As the Director of Multicultural Affairs, I provided leadership and collaboration for the development and implementation of programs and services supporting racial and cultural diversity on campus. Currently, I serve as the Acting Director of the Gateway/Act 101 program. The Gateway/Act 101 program consists of students, many of whom are first generation college students, who demonstrate that they are capable of achieving educational success. Act 101 is a bill in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,

known as the “Higher Education Equal Opportunity Act,” authored by K. Leroy Irvis, then Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He recognized that economically disadvantaged students in Pennsylvania were being denied the initial opportunity to receive higher education instruction. The bill was approved in 1971 by the general assembly.

It is not often that you hear people say they absolutely love their jobs! Meeting with students daily to review goals and provide guidance as they pursue their college and career dreams is one of the highlights of my position. My ability to engage with students in a meaningful way informs me of how to best cater to their

educational, personal, and career needs. I especially enjoy teaching the learning strategies course and witnessing students apply newly learned skills to their coursework with great success. Daily, I am rewarded when students achieve their semester goals, or when they have rebounded from academic jeopardy to good academic standing. Another rewarding aspect of my job is the ability to develop and administer programs that serve students as well as provide training to upper-class students who serve as mentors for the program. In my 13 years of working with the program, I feel a sense of pride that I have continued to substantially help students achieve their academic aspirations. Finally, the Gateway

to Success program is integral to the university community as a result of the successful collaboration among various departments, faculty, and staff. I am proud to be a significant part of fulfilling the mission of this global institution.

As an Academic Advisor and the Gateway to Success Program Coordinator, my absolute favorite part about working with the Gateway program is the students! Every student brings a unique experience and value to the program and to Arcadia. I love that I can see a student through the summer program, all the way to their graduation, with all challenges and accomplishments in between. Being able to walk with a student on that journey is an amazing experience and I am grateful for all of the students, who make it worthwhile.

I look forward to meeting incoming students and continuing on this journey with our current students.

I’m a true “Philly Girl” at heart. I was born in Philadelphia but my family moved to Mayagüez, Puerto Rico where I remained through my early childhood years, learning Spanish as my first language. My family and I eventually moved back to Philadelphia, first to the Hunting Park area and eventually to the Northeast, where my family still resides.

I am a proud alumna of

Girls’ High and Shippensburg University, where I earned both a B.A. in Sociology and an M.S. in Counseling with a concentration in College Student Personnel. I ended up loving the college experience so much that I stayed in higher education! I had so many amazing mentors and administrators that guided me in college that it became one of my true passions to be able to give back to students in the same way. I am also a proud sister of Sigma Lambda Gamma National Sorority Inc., through which I continue to serve in the

community and as a mentor of undergraduate sisters.

Distinguished Dean’s List Fall 2014Wilfredo Amill ’18Elaine Applegate ’16Hannah Berman ’18Olivia Bressi-Harman ’18Theresa Johnstone ’16Cynthia Oquendo ’16Lauren Potcher ’18Gina Proietto ’15

Dean’s List Fall 2014Daniella Castellanos ’16Chelsea Colon ’16Isabel Farfan ’16Takiyah Fortune ’15Steven Sciortino ’15Sara Silverman ’17

Vira I. Heinz Program for Women in Global Leadership

Chelsea Colon ’16

President of Arcadia University Student Government Organization

Daniel Rivera ’17

ACADEMIC ACHEIVEMENTS LEADERSHIP

Cristina Cintron-Marsh, Academic Advisor, and Gateway Program Coordinator

Angela McNeil Acting Director, Act 101 Program

THE GATEWAYArcadia University is committed to the intellectual, social, and personal development of each student. This commitment has been demonstrated over the past 20 years with continued support of the Gateway to Success program, which has become an integral part of the community.

The Gateway to Success program began at Arcadia University, then named Beaver College, in August 1991 with a part-time director (Dr. Doreen Loury) and two part-time professional counselors (Bruce Keller and Angela McNeil). Gateway to Success was the umbrella to the College Academic Assistance Program and Act 101 program. The mission of the program was and continues to be service to students who demonstrate academic promise even though their academic credentials do not reflect their full potential.

Students are recruited through the Enrollment Management office, with the Gateway to Success staff actively participating in the selection process. Admission consists of three pathways: required attendance of the Summer Bridge program, recommended attendance of Summer Bridge, or beginning the Gateway Program in the fall.

Throughout their tenure at Arcadia, admitted students receive individualized attention and additional resources. Both the Summer Bridge and semester components are structured to provide academic, social, and personal support,

designed to facilitate the academic success of full- and part-time Gateway students as they seek to attain their educational goals.

One of the purposes of the counseling and advising components of the program is to assist students in taking responsibility for their intellectual, academic, personal, communal, and social development. The program’s underlying purpose is to move students to a level of “ownership,” which requires them to become self-directed and self-aware.

Students achieve this level of independence through the support and guidance of professional staff and peer mentors. Peer mentors are vital to the success of the program. As guides, friends, and even confidants to incoming students, peer mentors are responsible for helping students begin to master the challenges and rigors of college academic, social, and personal life. Incoming students must master developmental tasks as outlined by Chickering’s Student Development Model in order to reach their full potential as burgeoning young adults. The better a student is able to fulfill these tasks, the more success they will experience as college students. Gateway to Success helps students achieve this level of self-mastery.

Students in the Gateway to Success Program are lifetime members who are very successful and reach back and support the program in a variety of ways.

THE JOURNEY

Students and staff with Arcadia President Nikki DeVille Christensen.

Feb. 2015Vol. 1

In this Issue:• Advice from an

Alumna

• Senior Student Profile

• Visitor from Japan

• De-Stress Event

• Sophomore Profile

• Freshman Profile

• Tips for Commuters

• Why Ms. Angela & Ms. Cristina love their jobs!

• Gateway Student Accomplishments

Catherine Hagan ’17 |Editor

Staff Writers/Contributors

Daniel Riviera ’17Natalie Vargas ’16Tatiana Redden ’17

Special thanks to those who worked on the newsletter

behind the scenes during the previous academic year.

John Doherty ’14Jayson Flores ’14Karla Marquez ’17

Noriette Suarez ’14

Gateway to Success

Taylor Hall, Suite 107450 S. Easton RoadGlenside, PA 19038

NewsletterStaff

TIME MANAGEMENT TIPS FROM A GATEWAY ALUMNA by Noriette Suarez ’14

Many students struggle to balance classes, work, extracurricular activities, social groups, and time. It becomes very easy and desirable to procrastinate because of this. Whenever I used to linger off my schedule, I would fall right into the procrastination trap. The most important thing, though, is to not fall behind to the point where you cannot catch up.

For the people who always find themselves behind in their work, I strongly urge you to create a fixed schedule and to-do list. I started out each semester writing down times I had classes, work, and clubs to stay organized. For

example, all my classes would be highlighted in red, while work would be yellow, and clubs, blue. From there, I could clearly see my “free time.” However, I always remained mindful that my free time should be used for studying. It has been said that for every hour you spend in class, you will probably need to study two hours outside of class.

Every month I would create a to-do list where each class had its own category. I’d look at all my syllabi simultaneously to clearly see what needed to be completed and when. Tip: Always keep up to date with each syllabus to see

where you are going and what you have done.

A few other great tips:

• Always prepare for class as if there will be a pop quiz.

• Do not expect to stick with your schedule perfectly. Be flexible and always plan a little extra free time so when time does goes over, you will still be on schedule.

• Don’t be hard on yourself.• Also, take care of yourself:

studying on four hours of sleep and an empty stomach or junk-food diet is ineffective.

Do not expect to stick with your schedule perfectly.

Be flexible and always plan a little extra free time

so when time does goes over, you will still be on

schedule. Don’t be hard on yourself and take care of

yourself. Studying on four hours of sleep and an emp-

ty stomach or junk-food diet is ineffective.

Noriette Suarez ’14

GIVING IT BACK, PAYING IT FOWARDJose Figueroa, a senior business administration major with a Spanish minor, has been a part of the Gateway/Act 101 program for four years total: one as a student, and three as a mentor. One of the obstacles he faced that the Gateway program helped him with was balancing being an athlete and a student. Students involved in the Gateway to Success Summer Program have to take a time management course, which was useful for Jose as an athlete.

Jose points to “being able to prepare for having a roommate, practice college-level writing, and having reliable advisors, Ms. Angela and Ms.

Cristina, to depend on” as just some of the ways he benefited from the Gateways to Success Summer program.

Jose’s favorite part of the program has been his involvement as a mentor. He claims this opportunity has provided him the chance to “learn from my mentees, draw from their ambition and drive…. [while] I can share mine with them as well.” Jose plans to graduate this year and one day be able to give back to the Gateway/Act 101 Program by providing internships and sponsorship to new students.

YOSHIDA OF HIROSHIMA UNIVERSITY VISITS GATEWAY/ACT 101In 2013, Kana Yoshida visited the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Program (PHEAA) in Harrisburg, Pa. A professor from Hiroshima University whose research focus is higher education policy and finance, Yoshida was interested in the Higher Educational Equal Opportunity Programs and their role in promoting access and support to low-income students.

To that end, on August 29, 2014, Professor Yoshida visited the Gateway/Act 101 program at Arcadia University, where she met briefly with Dr. Nancy Rosoff, Dean of Graduate and Undergraduate Studies; Tatiana Redden, a sociology major; Wilfredo Amill, a theater major; and Angela McNeil, Acting Director, Gateway/Act 101. Yoshida stated that her visit was very informative and will augment her research in support of introducing a similar program in Japan. Currently, there is no such program in her country.

DE-STRESS WITH GATEWAY TO SUCCESSIn order to get rid of some of the unwanted stress that comes with a long semester, the Gateway staff offered a De-Stress event.

Students learned about the difference between stress levels, created stress balls, and even had the opportunity to make delicious smoothies. People ranging from freshmen to seniors attended this event, and everyone enjoyed their time!

AU President Dr. Nicolette DeVille Christensen took time out to attend and speak with students about our semesters and how things are coming along. As a second year member of the Gateway to Success program, it meant a lot to me

for the President to check on how we were doing and also offer some advice on how she deals with stress, including running or a call to mom.

The Gateway to Success Program really cares for the students. Students appreciate our De-Stress opportunity to take our minds off of school work and relax with peers. Along with the activities, Personal Fitness Club President Daniel Rivera conducted some stress relief exercises to share with the attendees of the event. Everyone found it extremely fun. The little things like spending time with the students and staff of Gateway are the most memorable and meaningful moments which

make many students look forward to the other events coordinated by the program. “I really enjoy having the time to spend with my friends after not seeing them for a while. Coming to these events, I know that I can take the time out and really unwind with relaxing activities and really good food!” said Jamelia Barrett ‘17, a sociology major. Coming together as a really tightknit program, I could see that everyone at the event was extremely grateful to be there.

Thank you, Gateway staff!

NATALIE VARGAS: IT’S ALL WORTH IT!

Natalie Vargas ’17 was hesitant to join the Gateway Program but ultimately decided to attend. The Gateway Program is designed to set the stepping stones—time management, healthy habits, understanding what it means to be a college student—that lead up to the fall semester.

Natalie likes to watch people, so she took the first couple of days to observe the Gateway

Program. The first person she met was Karla, her roommate, and they got along fabulously. Then she met Ms. Angela, who gave off a maternal feeling and helped Natalie transform her idealistic dreams into realistic goals. She also challenged Natalie to narrow her focus. Natalie’s English class was influential because her professor saw students as individuals

with potential and wanted the best for them. Natalie noticed what it meant to be a leader on campus, and she knew she wanted to be a leader who did many things as well.

Before she graduates, Natalie hopes to find an internship that will help her discover what she wants to do and to study abroad.

FIRST-YEAR STUDENT PROFILE: KATELYN DUVALLKatelyn Duvall ’18 is a first-year student majoring in Criminal Justice from Camphill, PA. Arcadia University was appealing to her because it was different from her hometown and close enough to the city for her to explore.

When she was offered an opportunity to enter the

Gateway to Success Program, she participated in the summer session and built friendships and learned locations on campus. She enjoyed having information and experience from others because she was prepared and settled in by fall semester. The Gateway Program set a foundation and allowed her access to valuable resources.

Katelyn says if it were not for the Gateway Program, her experience and transition into the fall semester “may have been rocky.” Without the Gateway program, she may not have learned some of the strategies she needed for college.

“Their support never goes away,” she says.

Tips for Commuter Students:• Socialize with

others and try to make friends.

• Utilize the University Commons

• Talk to the Commuter Assistants.

• Take advantage of the guest rooms.

• Try to carpool.

• Do not hesitate to connect with members of clubs and organizations. Voice your opinions to faculty about problems or concerns.

Katelyn Duvall ’18 (right)