Volunteer for FYSOP, Do Good around the City

Last year, FYSOP student volunteers worked at Dorchester’s Nightingale Community Garden. Photo by Jackie Riccardi

Kirsten Kuhn started her first year at BU feeling more prepared than most of her fellow freshmen. Before classes even began, she had visited the Franklin Park Zoo, built a community garden, and met and worked closely with dozens of soon-to-be classmates, as well as many upperclassmen.

The reason? Kuhn (CAS’15) had signed up for BU’s First Year Student Outreach Project (FYSOP), a five-day volunteer opportunity run by the Community Service Center (CSC) that matches first year students (freshmen and transfers) with community service projects across greater Boston the week before Matriculation.

Today kicks off the first of this year’s summer Orientations, where first year students and their parents are introduced to past FYSOP participants and find out about the program and how to register.

Last year, the hugely popular program drew almost 900 first-year students—nearly a quarter of the Class of 2018. In addition to the social perks, Kuhn says, FYSOP provides first year students a chance to “learn about the neighborhoods, the people, and the worthwhile organizations throughout the city. It’s a great way to get your footing at BU, to learn where the dining halls are, and how to ride the T.”

Before arriving on campus, students are assigned to one of 11 focus areas: abilities (working with people with various disabilities), animals, children, elders, environment, food justice, gender and sexuality, homelessness and housing, human rights, public health, and urban engagement. Volunteer projects may include sorting food donations (the food justice group), painting murals at local elementary schools (urban engagement), or helping to clean facilities at local animal shelters (animals).

This year’s FYSOP volunteers are scheduled to arrive on campus Monday, August 24. That evening, they will meet their group leaders and participate in the program’s opening ceremonies. The next day is spent learning about their focus areas from experts, and that evening they get a chance to act like tourists, visiting various places of interest around Boston. Volunteers spend FYSOP’s final three days on site, with evenings reserved for social activities.

On the registration form, participants are asked to list their interests in order of preference, and efforts are made to assign them one of their top choices. The cost for enrolling is $450, which covers housing, food, and program logistics, and financial aid is available. The benefits of signing up early include first pick at issue areas and a greater chance of obtaining financial aid.

Many upperclassmen point to FYSOP as one of the highlights of their BU experience, so it’s not surprising that the program attracts repeat customers in the form of upperclassmen coming back to volunteer as group leaders and organizers. Kuhn has been a volunteer, a staff leader (twice), and a coordinator before becoming program manager this year.

Swanson Ninan (CAS’15), who shares program manager duties with Kuhn, says FYSOP not only helped him become acclimated within the University before classes started, but later helped him secure an internship at one of the organizations he’d volunteered with.

“It’s a really great way to meet other students who are in the same boat as you,” he says. “People might be really nervous about BU’s size, but FYSOP helps to break it down. I met a few upperclassmen I’m still in touch with today, and the program helped me to transition from high school to college life.”

Want to learn more about FYSOP or sign up? Both are available here.