Taylor: Hi! Welcome. This is the Transfer Talks Podcast. Thank you for being here today.

Stacey: Thank you for having me.

Taylor: Yeah! Of course. So we’re just gonna have a chat about your transfer experience. My name's Taylor Swenson, I’m the Jacks Online Coordinator with Transfer and Online Connections, as you know. But could you introduce yourself, tell me your title, just a little bit about you.

Stacey: Sure sure. My name is Stacey Calvert and I am the Director of Transfer and Online Connections. And I’ve been at NAU, working for NAU since 2004. I had got into advising for several years and in the last, over a year I have been in this position in the peer mentoring program of Transfer and Online Connections. And I am an NAU alum, I got my Bachelor's degree in Psychology with a minor in Sociology here and I also got a Master's in Public Administration and I was a transfer student. I transferred from Pima Community College in Tucson. 

Taylor: Okay, and is that where you’re from, Tucson?

Stacey: Kind of sort of. I was a military brat, but when my parents divorced, my mother had moved there. And so I spent a lot of years of my life in Tucson. And then I transferred here and loved Flagstaff and NAU so much that I stayed here.

Taylor: Yeah, and I guess that kinda leads to the next question. Why did you choose NAU at the time? If you can remember or what did you like about NAU? 

Stacey: So well, it’s kind of funny because we didn’t have social media, so back in those days, I didn’t even know Flagstaff or NAU existed, and my mom actually recommended it. And I was a little intimidated about going to U of A because it's practically a city down there and that, that made me a little bit nervous, and I just felt like I would kind of get lost in the woodwork. So I visited Flagstaff and NAU and I fell in love with it. I like the small campus size and that was, that was a lot of the reason why I had moved to, to NAU. 

Taylor: Yeah. So it sounds like you really enjoyed the size of the campus, like where it was located. Do you have a favorite memory from attending NAU? Or just like something that pops out or something you really enjoyed while you were here?

Stacey: Yes, I really like the smaller class sizes and how approachable the faculty were. I was a little intimidated, so I kind of reflected the community college. Pima Community College is pretty large but kind of the same ratio of classes. And then also, I enjoyed how people tried to like really, they were really friendly and put themselves out there and some of my favorite memories is taking some of the outdoor recreation classes. I took cross-country skiing and hiking, I was in the hiking club, and I took a lot of fit classes to maintain some level of activity.

Taylor: Yeah and so that's not what you studied, you studied Psychology but you just really fell in love with being outside and outdoors and kind of got your experience.

Stacey: Yes, yeah, yes I did. I mean I do like the human behavior and the Psychology of people so that's why I had majored in Psychology, but I did really enjoy kind of those classes to get me out and about. 

Taylor: Yeah, and I guess our next question is you mentioned it a little bit from going from Pima Community College to NAU. What was your transfer experience like? Do you remember how you felt going from Pima to NAU and how that actually turned out?

Stacey: Yeah, so, part of the reason why I went to the community college was because I was a little bit nervous about just jumping into the college experience right out of high school. 

Taylor: Yeah.

Stacey: And so the community college helped me with that kind of that transition of kind of getting my feet wet while I was still kind of tied in and I liked how for me personally NAU was, was far but not too far away from home, so I still felt like I had this connection. My experience was, when I transferred, I had no friends that I was transferring with. So I came here knowing no one and so that was a little bit intimidating for me. I did move on-campus because I didn’t know how to navigate really, the apartments, they didn't have a lot of apartments out there during those days because that was back in ‘89 when I transferred. But I do remember feeling somewhat lonely and, and going home quite a bit on weekends because I felt lonely but I made an effort at getting more involved into clubs and, you know sports, just to force myself to meet people.

Taylor: Yeah. I know that NAU has a lot of housing options and so that’s a very common choice for a lot of transfers, but I also can understand the feeling of being close enough to home to go visit home and how hard it can be to make friends and so, you know, it sounds like you adapted well and so that you had a really good experience while you’re here because you’re still here. And so kind of moving into thinking about how you graduated, so what does it feel to be a transfer graduate now, kind of looking back at that experience, and also like thinking about your role as the Director of our Transfer and Online Connections too.

Stacey: So looking back as a transfer student, I think that being at the community college, like I said, kind of helped me with transitioning into college life. It was also a little bit hard for me because I felt like some of the classes were a little bit more rigorous for me when I went to NAU, but I had used a lot of the tutoring services to get me up to speed. So I think that helped a lot. As a director and coming from an academic side, I felt like Academic Advisors were good for students to understand the academic requirements, but I think that there's a lot of other things that students need to kind of learn how to navigate that the mentoring programs offer. And also to just get out of there and maybe participate in events that Student Affairs offers or even the academics side offers.

Taylor: Yeah, I definitely agree with that too. It seems like Academic Advisors are like maybe your first point of contact as a transfer student, like getting your transcripts in and trying to make sure you’re in the right classes and how everything articulates, but moving beyond, like what is the actual experience like being here on campus and meeting people and adapting, adapting to like what the university offers. So I definitely agree that our Transfer Jacks Program does a great job of trying to help students adapt to that. And I would imagine, was the Transfer Jacks around when you were on campus?

Stacey: They were not. They didn’t have Academic Advisors either. 

Taylor: Ohh my goodness. 

Stacey: We went to faculty. So I think that's been a great transition. One thing that I really do like about the mentoring program is since it's a peer mentoring program, it’s actually students that are experienced in real time because, like I just mentioned, there are so many different things about the support systems that, that were, they were so different when I was experiencing it as a student. So, it’s a little bit harder for me to have that real-world experience that's more recent because, you know, the university has evolved and has changed and so to have that peer mentor there and to actually have the events of knowing, I know what my peers like and how my peers are experiencing real-time, I think is a lot more helpful than, than maybe what other people can provide because their experiences were even, even just a couple years ago, there’s been a lot of changes. So I think the peer mentoring program is great about that.

Taylor: I definitely agree with that too. So one of our last questions, we have two more, is what do you wish more people understood about the transfer experience?

Stacey: I guess that the transfer experience can be a little bit lonely. And so, you know, getting out there to meet people could be a little bit more of a struggle because they're, they’ve started two years after the freshman have started basically. But they come in with kind of different perspectives to offer because they came from all other institutions. So they have a lot to offer too because, because they’ve had so many different experiences than maybe a freshman has or started here.

Taylor: Yeah I like that perspective from looking at a strengths perspective, not like what are transfer students lacking from not being here, but what are they actually bringing to our campus and adding to the community here too, so I really like that perspective. And then kind of the last question here as far as transfer experience is what piece of advice would you give to transfer students?

Stacey: So I guess I would say, give about three, three things that I would advise. Definitely take advantage of the peer mentor that’s assigned to them on their first semester because that peer mentor knows how to navigate through NAU policy and procedure, it could be figuring out what tutors to go to, just kind of where they’re a perfect person to tell you where you need to go next. And if they don’t know the answer they know where to find it. And so, I think that peer mentors can offer so many things for somebody who’s new, especially who is coming all alone. And then Academic Advising. See your Academic Advisor, make sure all of your transfer credit is fulfilling the requirements that they should be fulfilling and your advisor can do that, and then also to meet with the Academic Advisor regularly to make sure that you’re taking the classes you need to take and graduating as soon as you can. And then my third advice would be to get out there and be involved. The Transfer Jacks Program has a lot of events but there’s also other events across campus and online events that students can participate in, so they can just get out there. And that’s part of the way to learn about who you are, what your interests are, and also to establish, start to establish your own community.

Taylor: Yeah, that's great. I love that. And so a fun question like this or that is, what’s one of your favorite places to eat here in Flagstaff?

Stacey: Well currently, it is Delhi Palace. They have delicious food and I would say that they have the best service that you could ask for.

Taylor: Yeah I’ve actually heard that this week too. 

Stacey: That is great. You come in and it's like you know, they’ll fill up your glass if you drink it a million times and I mean they’re just great. They're really friendly people and the food is absolutely delicious.

Taylor: Oh well sounds pretty yummy. Well, I just want to thank you for being here and sharing your experience with us, and just hope to catch you all in the next Transfer Talks Podcast.

Stacey: Thank you so much, Taylor.