New Student and Family Transitions earns regional award for 2024 LEAP Week   

Augusta University’s Office of New Student and Family Transitions has earned another award for its student transition programming, building on the momentum of its 2024 Tourism Partner of the Year Award presented at the 2024 Augusta State of Tourism: Connect and Celebrate event. Most recently, NSFT received the 2025 Region VI Innovation in Transition Programs Award for the 2024 LEAP Week program at the Association for Orientation, Transition, and Retention in Higher Education 2025 Region VI Regional Conference that took place in New Orleans, Louisiana, March 7-9. 

AU competed against other schools in Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina and South Carolina. AU stood out among the others for implementing a creative approach to student transition that effectively connects first-year students to campus and community resources. LEAP Week demonstrated exceptional growth from 60 to 650 participants over two years and showcased innovative partnerships with local businesses and organizations.  

Winners from Region VI advance to consideration in NODA’s annual awards process; award winners will be announced at the annual conference in San Francisco held Oct. 24-27. 

“Being recognized as a leading program within NODA’s largest region, among such innovative peers, is a tremendous honor for our entire team and a testament to the hard work behind LEAP Week,” said Mark Myers, director of New Student and Family Transitions.  

Jenna Sims, assistant director of NSFT, said that LEAP Week serves to connect incoming students, not only with one another and the university but also with the greater Augusta community. As such, the 2024 LEAP Week program included a partnership with Destination Augusta to foster relationships with local businesses, organizations and nonprofits when students signed up for explorative sessions throughout Augusta.      

“Through LEAP Week, we incorporate these authentic Augusta experiences that allow students to go out into the community and experience anything that they’re interested in, including nature, arts, history, kayaking, pottery, museums, rage rooms and even ax throwing,” said Sims. “Students are able to see and interact with a lot of local businesses in Augusta, which shows them what all exists beyond our campus and how they can get involved in the community.”  

While at the 2025 Region VI Regional Conference, the NSFT team brought a group of student leaders who attended professional development workshops and learned more about skills that will help them in their leadership roles.  

John Blalock, a second-year undergraduate political science major, serves as student coordinator and oversees logistics and transition programs. While at the conference, he attended various workshops that provided a networking opportunity where people from different colleges and universities could share ideas and collaborate.   

“By winning this award and competing against major schools like Florida State and the University of Georgia, who both have huge campus cultures, it just shows that we are creating a very unique experience that incoming students should be excited for and looking forward to doing,” said Blalock.  

Blalock participated in last year’s LEAP Week, where he specifically led the Golf Track and found that the students greatly enjoyed the opportunity to dive into new experiences.   

“It’s such a great experience, and for this upcoming year, we’re going to take what everyone loved the most from those tracks and enhance it to increase engagement and hopefully retention in the long run,” he said.  

According to Myers, this year’s transition program will build upon the success of LEAP Week by aiming to include even more community-based experiences. The goal is to introduce students to high-impact opportunities that truly showcase all that both Augusta University and the Augusta community have to offer, further strengthening the connection between new students and their new home. This will continue to involve working alongside local vendors and businesses, fostering new relationships that enrich the student experience.