( Photo / University Relations )
IMPACT leaders at Session 1 IMPACT 2020
Codi Clemmons
Staff Writer
Every future Troy Trojan at the undgergrad level attends an IMPACT session the summer before starting at Troy.
Along with those attending the orientation sessoins, there are also appointed leaders who serve as mentors, helping the incoming students register for courses and get to know the campus.
Currently, applications to be a 2021 IMPACT leader are now available as the new IMPACT sessions are approaching in a few months.
Students interested in becoming an IMPACT leader must be a full-time undergraduate student, have a minimum of a 2.5 GPA and must have at least one semester remaining at Troy.
The process of becoming an IMPACT leader also requires the attendance of at least one interest session. While two sessions have already passed, there are still two more available sessions.
The next one will be an in-person session on Tuesday, Febr. 9 in the Admissions Office, which is located at 111 Adams Administration Building. The second one will be a virtual session on Wednesday, Febr. 10.
If you are looking to attend the virtual interest sessions please email bhowell@troy.edu or call 334-670-3174.
To locate the IMPACT leader application, visit troy.edu/impact and complete it before the deadline of Friday,
Febr. 19.
While IMPACT has recently changed to adapt to COVID-19 regulations, it is still an unforgettable experience for everyone.
Chase Hammac, a freshman computer science major from East Brewton, Alabama, said his IMPACT session last spring was a
positive experience.
“I really liked how welcoming the experience was,” Hammac said.
“I was introduced to almost all the buildings for classes and social experiences, and I liked how everyone was super upbeat and positive with their guiding
and teaching.”
Even with COVID as a fresh threat to activities on campus at the time, the new regulations didn’t cause an issue with how things ran.
“The COVID regulations we followed were 6 feet apart in the classrooms we were seated in and a mask was required,” Hammac said.
“I didn’t really find anything inconvenient about the experience. I’m proud to be able to call myself a Troy Trojan and look forward to my years with the university.”
Even the IMPACT leaders wearing masks said they had smiles on their faces.
“I had a really fun time serving as an IMPACT leader this past summer,” said Mary Kohls, a junior political science major from Cincinnati, Ohio.
“It was unique and different and was a really great experience to help introduce the incoming Freshmen to Troy.”
IMPACT has a long history of leaders who have helped to make the experience and transition into college as easy for students as possible.
Allie Danielle Higgins, a senior majoring in biomedical sciences from Oxford, Alabama, was an IMPACT leader in 2019.
“The training during the summer was very in-depth,” Higgins said. “We met with every academic department head and learned basically everything about every major, minor, program that
we offer.
“We also met with financial services and student support services and basically every other department to make sure we were super informed on anything an incoming student could need information on.
“It was for sure an information overload, but once the sessions started happening, everything came as second nature, and it really was the best experience ever.”
The process to become an IMPACT leader will take “a lot of time and hard work but the results are worth it,” according
to Kohls.
“My best advice for those looking to apply is don’t be afraid to be yourself,” Kohls said. “It will be a memorable and one of the most fun summers you will
ever have.”
