2020-21 Foundation Year Arrivals

The KGSP was so excited to welcome 63 of the 2020-21 Foundation Year (FY) students to the United States last month, having finally arrived to complete their Foundation Year programming after 10 months of virtual study due to COVID-19 restrictions.  The students, met by the KGSP at the airports of their arrival in Austin, Boston, Champaign, and Philadelphia, shared in the excitement of reaching this milestone in their KGSP journey before matriculating to premier undergraduate universities this fall.

“After working virtually with the students for the past year, it was wonderful to see everyone rolling their suitcases through the Boston-Logan Arrival Terminal to complete their Foundation Year experience in person,” KGSP Advisor Nick Willon said. “Although the meet-and-greet was tailored to accommodate their university’s quarantine policies, being there to welcome the BU students into the country, set up their apartments, and walking them through the transition to in-person classes was fulfilling for me as an Advisor, and I hope the students felt the same way.”

KGSP students arriving in Boston.

As part of their in-person summer program, the students are participating in introductory STEM classes at their FY campus, along with regularly matriculated students.  They are also taking a pre-freshman preparatory course created by the KGSP called “Ready, Set… Undergrad.”  This course helps students to learn about their future undergraduate institution in fun and creative ways while also reinforcing the soft-skills necessary to be successful as they transition from Foundation Year to undergraduate students. Once the summer ends, they will be departing to their respective undergraduate universities, ready to grow, excel, and succeed in the Program and in their academic studies.


Christina Williams, KGSP Placement Manager (far right) with UIUC Foundation Year Counselor and KGSP students posing in front of "The Alma Mater" statute at the UIUC campus.