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Making the transition from high school to college can seem overwhelming to many students. Learning to adapt to a rigorous class schedule, settling in with new roommates and being away from home are just a few of the things new college students face. In 1997, the University of South Carolina Upstate welcomed a federal grant program designed to help students make a successful transition to college. To date, more than 500 Upstate students have benefited from this combined endeavor.
Opportunity Network is a program that offers a wide variety of free services and programs to help students achieve their academic, career and personal goals, while confronting the challenges of completing a college degree. It provides a number of support programs at no cost to the student including tutoring, supplemental instruction, career assessment, study skills assistance (i.e., time management and test taking), cultural events, financial aid assistance, graduate and professional school advising, and much more. �I love this program because it has provided me with much support throughout the years and it has offered different learning opportunities as well,� said Elvia Pacheco, a senior from Newberry. �I have experienced support, understanding, respect and care from the Opportunity Network staff and they have made me feel that USC Upstate is where I belong.�
�Many students who join Opportunity Network report having less anxiety about school, improved GPAs, better study habits, and even more active social lives,� said Ina Minsky, director of Opportunity Network. �The network supports its members from acceptance to the program all the way until graduation, giving them every opportunity to succeed through free services and programs.� Opportunity Network is made possible by a TRIO grant funded by the U. S. Department of Education and is open to students who are first-generation (neither parent/guardian with whom the student resides has a four-year college degree), low-income and/or possess a documented disability. According to Minsky, more than 50 percent of the student body at USC Upstate is eligible to participate in Opportunity Network. For more information, contact Ina Minsky at (864) 503-5965. (Image provided by University of South Carolina Upstate)
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One of the first experiences students have as an Opportunity Network participant is Freshman Focus, a two-day kickoff event that introduces new participants to the staff and to each other. Freshman Focus begins the University 101 class experience with different �ice breakers� that bond the group and orient them to Opportunity Network and to USC Upstate. Fifty first-time, full-time college students will participate in Freshman Focus on August 15 and 16.
