What is FYSOP?
December 8, 2021
By Lindsay Boudreau
Right before my freshman year, I participated in BU’s FYSOP. Ever since then, whenever it comes up in conversation, I am met with the following question: “What is FYSOP?” Because it has always surprised me that so many BU students have never learned about this program, here’s a short explanation of what the project is and who can participate.
FYSOP, a Community Service Center project, stands for First Year Student Outreach Project. The participants are exclusively incoming BU freshmen, and the program focuses around a week of service to the city of Boston and its various neighborhoods. Students volunteer for the Boston community at local sites helping out schools, parks, non-profit organizations, and more (with, recently, options to volunteer online).
Freshmen are divided into neighborhoods/groups and led by upperclassmen. These upperclassmen, or student leaders, ensure that each site is prepared for the students and that the students get there safely. Additionally, leaders open up conversations throughout the service experience so that the incoming freshmen are able to reflect on what it means to give back, to be a part of the community, and what it means to be a part of BU. These conversations are especially important for incoming freshmen because of how much change they experience starting out in college.
There are so many perks to being a part of FYSOP! Students obtain valuable volunteer experiences, meet new people, and work on opening up to one another. Also, FYSOP participants get to move in a week earlier than most other students. This means that you get to skip out on the hectic move in schedule and might even get a slightly cheaper flight than if you were moving in when the other 140,000 college students in Boston.
It is important to note that all participants, and BU students in general, are required to follow all state and University guidelines during the week of FYSOP (which means being vaccinated and wearing masks when indoors). FYSOP also requires a $450 fee that covers transportation, food, some merch, and staffing for the week of service, but scholarships are available.
If you’re an incoming freshman, FYSOP is definitely something to look into. Through my personal experience, I met some of my best friends, got a better understanding of the layout of Boston, and really enjoyed volunteering at various non-profits. If you’re not an incoming freshman, maybe consider staffing FYSOP in the future. For more information, visit https://www.bu.edu/csc/fysop/