Welcome to UBC!!! Your hard work has paid off and I am very excited to be one of the first faculty members to greet you this summer in Jump Start and hopefully we will stay in touch throughout your UBC careers. I started my UBC experience as a student and have stuck around now to be a faculty member. I remember my first year as being both exciting and challenging as I transitioned into university life. There were a lot of newness and uncertainty for me, new city, new campus, new friends, and a new way to study. Sometimes I felt overwhelmed other times I was in collegial heaven, but the one constant that I believe is important to have is a community of individuals that you can rely on and tap into to help keep you grounded. Hopefully through the Jump Start program together we can form such a community and we can prepare for some of these exciting new changes coming up and prepare for the challenges. Cant wait to meet you all!