The TRAIN mixer brings gratitude to the forefront

This past Friday, I attended the TRAIN mixer at the ASU West campus. The room was filled with current TRAIN students as well as a few future transfer students. Welcoming us was the team of professors that support this program. I always enjoy this mixer as well as the class. This group of students is one of the most welcoming group I have encountered in my educational journey. They are all transfer students from local community colleges, like myself. They understand the journey to get to where we are and they all seem to have similar goals. We are all in the sciences, so they understand the importance of having and giving support as these are not easy degrees. The thing that I like the most of these mixers is the openness with which we all come. Everyone is open to talking, even those who are not the most social. Since we have things in common, it is always easy to find ways to communicate and connect. For example, while talking to future transfer students I noticed some had questions about the transfer process. It is hard to believe I went thru that same process less than two years ago. The one piece of advice I gave them was to keep in touch with their TRAIN program coordinators as much as possible. During my first year in the program at Phoenix College, I had a person with whom I would meet over Zoom (Covid times) to go over the current research I was exploring. Although I am unsure of his title, he was able to guide me thru the process by reminding me the dates to apply to ASU, the seminars I should attend, and he was able to bring other coordinators into our meetings whenever I would ask questions he couldn’t answer. My leaders made the transfer process so incredibly easy that I didn’t feel any anxiety, which I tend to have naturally when I do things I haven’t done before. It was like following a chocolate cake recipe step by step. With their help, I felt as if I was already part of ASU even though I had not even applied. Thank you Phoenix College TRAIN staff. I wouldn’t be here without your hard work. This first generation, adult student will always be grateful to you. -Wendy Pinon