For years, first-year students have moved into resident halls the Sunday before Labor Day with nothing to do once they arrived. With feedback from previous students and the dedi- cation of the Student Develop- ment for Campus Activities (SDCA) office, a positive and refreshing change was added to the first week of school, the Week of Welcome program, also known as “WOW.”
“Traditionally students haven’t had anything to do from the day they move in until Con- vocation,” said Niki Fjeldal, Assistant Director of SDCA. “Students tend to have ques- tions the first day of classes, so we wanted to build up program- ming to promote involvement for students.”
During the Week of Wel- come, student leaders, who were selected through an ap- plication process, had the privi- lege to be a part of the first WOW initiative. These WOW leaders assisted students with Pace Portal and Orgsync train- ing refreshers while promoting community amongst the incoming freshman class.
There is a distinct difference between orientation, which oc- curs during the summer months
in multiple sessions, and WOW, which is geared towards social interaction amongst the entire incoming freshman class. Not only were students able to so- cialize, but they were able to grasp a better understanding of student life, including the “need to know” topics of being a stu- dent at Pace.
“Being involved with ori- entation allowed me to get to know students and introduce them to student life, whereas
being a WOW Leader chal- lenged me since all of our stu- dents were together,” said ju- nior adolescent education major Dante Plush. “There are things I saw that [new students] may not have seen, such as applying what they learned (Pace Portal and Orgsync) to their soon to be everyday life.”
But what did the attendees think of this new student pro- gramming?
“I didn’t like how the pro- gram was ‘mandatory,’” said freshman personality psychol- ogy major Casey Fernandez . “I felt that if the program wasn’t mandatory, it would have been more enjoyable.”
Students inevitably enjoyed some of the events such as “Taste of Pleasantville” and the “Joe Moorehead Beach Party” more than others. Events such as these allowed students to get a feel for the Pace campus envi- ronment as well as the town of Pleasantville.
Vendors such as Frank & Joe’s Deli, Lucio’s Pizza, and Chartwells provided samples of their food for students. During the beach party, which of course included sand, the Joe Moore- head Band held raffles and played beach-themed music.
With all the events and feed- back taken into consideration, Fjeldal is sure that Week of Welcome will soon become a permanent part of campus cul- ture. Planning will begin this spring in preparation for the Class of 2014.