First-year Interest Groups
Flawn Academic Center, Room 1
1 University Station G5500
Austin, TX 78712
Phone: 512-232-3447
Fax: 512-232-7580
Chloe McCoy
Hometown: Austin, Texas
College/Major: College of Engineering/ Biomedical Engineering
How many years have you been involved with the FIG Program and in what capacity?
Two semesters as a freshman FIG student, five semesters as a FIG peer mentor.
Why is this program important to you?
I believe in the positive effects of this program on incoming students. The large size of this university makes it extremely difficult for some students to successfully adapt to college life. Being a part of a FIG can provide freshmen with valuable resources, important information, familiar faces in their classes, study buddies, exciting opportunities… the list of benefits goes on. After being in a FIG my freshman year, I emerged with valuable knowledge about resources on campus that I would otherwise not have been aware of, and an extremely large group of friends from all different majors. I have been living with six of my best college friends ever since, and I owe their friendship to my involvement in the FIG program.
How has it helped you or changed your life in any way?
The FIG program has given my college experience an element of variety. I feel much more informed about campus and the resources it has to offer. As a FIG student the program helped me come out of my shell and really develop into my own person. As a peer mentor I have the opportunity to continue my path of knowledge growth through planning new seminars, as well as touch the lives of freshman students in my major. I enjoy giving back to the programs that had a significant impact on me.
Describe one of your most memorable FIG moments?
I enrolled in a free Rape Aggression Defense (RAD) course with a few of my female students one semester. This week-long evening course taught women self defense techniques, how to take care of themselves physically and legally, and how to respond effectively in threatening situations. I feel that this experience brought me closer to my students on a peer level and gave us the opportunity absolve the peer mentor/student boundary and become really good friends. Every time I run into one of these students on campus now it is like running into an old friend and there is never enough time to catch up.
Describe the program in one word and explain why you chose that word.
Smart. The FIG program is a smart idea for anyone coming to UT. There is no way to determine the level of benefit possible from this program without trying it out. I have not met a single FIG student that did not agree that they learned something from their FIG.