Preparing Student-Athletes for a Smooth Transition

Summer has officially arrived and New Student Programs (NSP) and Academic Support Program for Student Athletes (ASPSA) staff are working collaboratively to create a fantastic Summer Start in the program’s first summer working in collaboration with NSP.

The new partnership allows NSP and ASPSA to prepare incoming student-athletes as much as possible for their first year. “It provides an adjustment period,” says Angela Mirabito, academic coordinator for ASPSA. “It prepares them so when they are in training and games and classes, they are more comfortable, better able to navigate, and more successful.”

Summer Start provides all of its participating students, some of which are student-athletes, to adjust to a comfort level on campus – socially, emotionally, and academically.  “It’s the experience of college but is on a smaller scale and easier to manage,” says Michael Coombes, director of NSP. Coombes and Mirabito also added that Summer Start allows for friendship and support to form. It also allows student-athletes to be exposed to other students to prevent getting in the “student-athlete bubble.”

[pullquote cite=”Angela Mirabito” color=”wolfpackred” align=”alignleft”]“The end goal for us is to provide student-athletes with a positive and successful transition to the university setting.”[/pullquote]

Since the move of Summer Start under NSP, the partnership between NSP and ASPSA has flourished. ASPSA staff has helped create a baseline for NSP for how student-athletes play into Summer Start. Mirabito even served on the search committee for the new Assistant Director for Summer Start.

Mirabito says, “We want to ensure that we are allocating resources, staff, and time to make sure all students are getting the same level of service.” Being the first year that Summer Start is housed under NSP, Mirabito and Coombes are expecting some learning curves but have the right mindset going into the summer.

NC State strives to be a campus that is a welcoming place for all of our students.