The new Welcome Center at Fresno City College specializes in assisting students coming to college for the first time. The center helps with transferring, getting official transcripts, and/or needing prerequisite clearances for certain courses before taking the class, according to information provided by FCC’s website.
The Welcome Center is located at 1525 E. Weldon Ave. near the campus parking structure.
This center offers services to help students accomplish things like choosing a major, planning first semester courses, creating a Student Education Plan (SEP) and career goals, along with other services. They also offer help through Zoom and can provide tours of the campus to the new students.
The Welcome Center’s Director of Outreach Nickolas Valencia-Lucio hopes that the center can provide an easier way for new or transferring students to feel welcome to FCC.
“I think the biggest impact that we’ve seen is that students get to leave with everything they need,” Valencia-Lucio said.
New students coming to the center for the first time are welcomed by student ambassadors. They sit down and help them with the application process, their student portal, email, Canvas, and financial aid. This can all be done in the computer lab at the center.
“So they’re [student ambassadors] very much part of our team. Like they’re not just a student aid in here, they’re actually hands on the ground, working side by side with counselors, and with outreach support staff,” Valencia-Lucio said.
Outreach specialists in the Welcome Center go out to 55 high schools in Madera, Clovis, and Fresno. They help the high school students there with applications to FCC during the fall semester. The counselors will help students create their first semester classes in the spring.
The center also partners with groups that work with African American, Latina/o/x/e, Asian American, and Native American communities. They participate in the Night at the Zoo Pride event, Transgender Day of Remembrance, First Year Experience LGBTQ+ Cohort Recruitment, along with other events held in the community.
“So we’re not only serving students here in our Welcome Center, we’ve also in the community serving students preparing them to get here to Fresno City College,” Valencia-Lucio said.
