Who We Are
New Student Services (NSS) is one of the eight departments in the Division of Student Affairs. NSS works to support new students in their transition to campus by providing programs and resources that empower students to achieve academic and co-curricular success. Every student who engages with our programs will gain the knowledge, confidence, and skills they need to successfully transition to the University.
What We Are Fundraising For
Bevo Buddy! - NSS's newest program pairs a UT student leader with incoming first-year and transfer students. This gives new students opportunities to connect regularly with an experienced Longhorn and explore the UT and Austin communities!
Horns Helping Horns (HHH) - Horns Helping Horns is an NSS-operated program for financially independent students and foster care alumni who arrive at UT Austin with little or no family support and extremely limited resources. The program provides students with advocacy, community and support throughout their time at UT Austin.
First-Generation Living Learning Community (LLC) - NSS partners with University Housing and Dining to support the First-Generation Living Learning Community, which provides a sense of belonging for new Longhorns who identify as first-generation (first-gen) college students by creating an engaging living environment.
Your Impact
The US Surgeon General warns of an Epidemic of Loneliness, especially amongst college students after the 2020 pandemic. Bevo Buddy! strives to combat this effect by creating quick friendships and many opportunities for connections on and off campus.
Since the start in 2022, Bevo Buddy! has not had to turn any students away from our services, serving 827 new students in total and hiring 150 Bevo Buddy Leaders (experienced student leaders). We would love to continue to grow and expand from year to year. To do so, it would require increasing our programming budget to meet the needs of all students (i.e., supplies, programming budget). Also, we want to increase our professional development opportunities for our Bevo Buddy Leaders through monthly workshops and retreat programming.
The program has seen success through its 95% second-year retention rate, average GPA of 3.5, and numerous statements such as these:
“I am so glad I joined the Bevo Buddy Program. I have felt more connected as a first-year (student) around the UT community and campus because of the program! I have gotten more out of my shell and felt comforted due to having an excellent leader!”
“Bevo Buddy helped me feel like I’m supposed to be at UT and UT wants me.”
With your support, Horns Helping Horns (HHH) would like to implement a Supervised Independent Living (SIL) program on UT Austin's campus. The SIL program would be a collaboration between the Department of Family & Protective Services (DFPS) and the University to mitigate the transition from foster care to adulthood. A SIL program is a voluntary extended foster care placement where young adults live on their own, while still getting casework and support services from the University through HHH to help them become independent and self-sufficient.
UT Austin has a growing number of students who have experienced foster care. In 2022-2023, there were over 280 students who used the foster care tuition waiver. Several other institutions in the University of Texas System have already or are in the process of implementing SIL programs.
Foster care alumni often face significant challenges during their transition to higher education, including housing instability, financial constraints, and a lack of emotional support. By creating a SIL on campus, UT Austin can address these challenges by providing a supportive environment that fosters academic success, personal growth, and a sense of belonging among foster care alumni.
When students were asked what they most enjoy about Horns Helping Horns, they said:
“I love meeting students from similar family backgrounds, who can relate to the struggles of navigating UT as an independent student.”
“I got to build relationships with other students and the staff. It was a privilege to know and feel supported by the community offered through HHH.”
“I joined HHH late into my Junior year at UT, but if I could go back and join as early as possible, I most definitely would. HHH opened my world to allow me to experience what it's like to be surrounded by a like-minded community and played a major role as a support system."
The First-Generation Living Learning Community provides students with a welcoming community with their first-gen peers. Students involved engage in community builders, regular meetings, involvement in a First-Gen faculty/staff mentorship program, and are given multiple tools to become strong, resilient students.
We will use your gift to support students when they need financial support for housing and/or other financial needs. First-gen college students are more likely to come from lower-income brackets than their continued-generation peers (https://www.collegegrant.net/first-generation/); therefore, donations towards housing/dining scholarships are greatly beneficial for our students. Additionally, donations from last year's 40 Hours for the Forty Acres campaign were used to fund laptop repairs and GRE testing.
Below are just a few quotes from some of our First-Gen LLC students:
“I had a great support system from the LLC. I learned a lot about resources on campus that I had not heard of, and it helped me to get a steady foundation to be set for the next three years.”
“Before resuming campus last year in the fall as an incoming first-year student, I was not confident in my ability to do a lot of things. Like all first-year students, it was a scary process leaving home for an entirely unfamiliar environment. Nevertheless, signing up for the First-Generation Living Learning Community allowed me to reduce some of my anxiety about adjusting and meeting people in college.”
We appreciate your support and donations! Hook 'em!