If Kailene Jackson could go back in time, there’s one part of her Brock journey she would do differently.

Though her time at the University has been full of meaningful experiences, the Political Science and Sociology student wishes she had taken advantage of the LEAP, Smart Start and BaseCamp programs offered to her before she began her first year of classes.

Lia Strazzeri participated in the LEAP program last summer.

“I didn’t do any of the summer orientation programs and because of that my first year was tougher,” said the 20-year-old St. Catharines resident, who recently completed her third year. “I just went to class and then went home. I now know how differently it could have gone if I put myself out there and got more involved before classes started.”

Having become more active in the University community throughout her studies, Jackson is now serving as the Events and Programs Assistant in the Student Life and Community Experience department. Through her role, she’s doing everything she can to encourage new students to get connected by participating in the LEAP program, which she facilitates.

“I just want to tell students to take the first step,” Jackson said. “We want them to succeed and LEAP can help them get ahead before they arrive here in the fall.”

LEAP brings new students to the University for a day or overnight stay where they take part in campus-wide activities, a variety of seminars and workshops from on-campus services and a community outreach experience with a local community organization to become more familiar with the University and city as a whole.

For second-year Concurrent Education student Lia Strazzeri, the program provided a familiarity that made the transition to post-secondary studies seamless.

“I was nervous to come into Brock for the first time,” she said. “But LEAP offered a lot of resources to help me feel more comfortable, especially being able to stay in residence for a night.”

Strazzeri, who is originally from Bolton, Ont., also received guidance on another necessary component of student life — taking the bus.

Joshua Bulfango found the LEAP program beneficial when he participated last summer.

“I had not really used public transit before,” she said. “It was great to learn the bus route during LEAP, especially because I needed to know how to get to my drama classes at the campus downtown.”

Joshua Bulfango had a similar experience to Strazzeri when he attended LEAP last summer. The second-year Biological Sciences student from Mississauga was also new to the area and anxious to learn more about the University and region.

“LEAP prepared me for what life would really be like here,” he said. “I used a lot of the on-campus services that we learned about, especially A-Z Learning Services.”

The program also helped Bulfango make some new connections.

“During LEAP, I met some really nice people,” he said. “One of them even became my best friend, even though we are in different Faculties.”

Knowing that the summer experiences of Bulfango and Strazzeri played a huge part in easing their transition to Brock, Jackson is hopeful that more students will follow their example and take advantage of the LEAP program this summer.

“LEAP gives them the confidence to get more involved,” she said. “They get comfortable talking to new people and an accurate picture of what life outside of the classroom will be like. Brock and St. Catharines have tons of great resources for students and LEAP helps them to confidently access those resources right away.”

LEAP sessions begin July 24 and run until Aug. 23. Visit the LEAP website to learn more and register.