Transition from high school to university can be exciting and, at the same time, overwhelming. While the excitement may soon wane, being overwhelmed will soon turn into challenges that will likely continue well into your second year and beyond. The magnitude of challenges you will face and the extent of adjustments you need to make to succeed at the university can be as great as that of people moving to and living a foreign culture drastically different from their own. I have experienced several major transitions in life, some with far greater challenges than moving from high school to university or living and working in a different culture. While always feeling great discomfort and anxiety during those periods, I realized, in retrospect, that those times were precisely when I learned and grew the most. I want to help incoming students, like you, better prepared for the challenges they will experience while studying at UBC. While you may feel overwhelmed by your initial experiences of the university, such as the course expectations, demands and pace etc., please know that there are resources, in each program, and in each course to help you succeed. Look for them and make use of them. Rest assured that the challenges you will face have been experienced by many before you; most of them sailed through these challenges triumphantly and so can you. I congratulate you for your courage to decide to attend UBC and trust you will have wisdom to take advantages of the available resources, human and otherwise, to help you succeed.