U of A program helps new students navigate ‘hidden curriculum’

When fall classes start at the University of Arizona this month, first-year student Natalie Robinson will already know where to find her classes, the library, tutoring help and even free food. That’s because Robinson, who moved to Tucson from Nashville, Tennessee, this summer, was one of 206 students who got a guided preview of college life through a long-running program called New Start. Launched in 1969, New Start gives rising freshmen at the UA a chance to live on campus, connect with a peer mentor and take two credit-earning classes for six weeks during the summer between high school graduation and college.