In previous years, Wright State University has put on an event called First Weekend to welcome new students to campus. This year, WSU traded this tradition for a new one, entitled Weeks of Welcome. With the last event concluding at the end of September, those involved in WOW have had time to reflect on its successes.
Goals for the new set-up
Fall 2025 kicked off with the first-ever Weeks of Welcome, or WOW, a solid six weeks of events welcoming new students to campus.
In previous years, such as First Weekend 2023, the on-boarding experience for new students was limited to the few days before classes started. However, this year, WSU had more up its sleeve.
Courtney Laukitis is the Assistant Director of Student Organizations for the Student Involvement and Leadership, or SIL. She was directly in charge of overseeing WOW, and serves as an expert on the programs and schedule. Laukitis shared that there were exactly 61 events for WOW, hosted by 15 campus departments.
“Our biggest goal was to provide an onboarding experience for our first-year students. We were able to accomplish this by providing a variety of events that were hosted by several campus partners. The events were planned with three pillars/buckets in mind: involvement, social success connections and community and belonging,” Laukitis said.
Laukitis was not alone in her efforts to throw a great WOW, as there were many dedicated student leaders on her side.
Bree Montgomery is a senior at WSU who is majoring in psychology. In her time at WSU, she has been involved in many student organizations and has taken leadership roles, including a position in SIL. This year, she worked as a leader in WOW, and explained her experience.
Montgomery explained that each WOW leader had their own Raider group, with 28 groups in total. Montgomery had 20 students in her Raider group, sharing that the intention behind the grouping was for students to meet others in the same college or major.
“The biggest difference with WOW versus First Weekend is that WOW is a six week program, so the first six weeks were used to make connections. There’s a statistic that basically says if a student doesn’t make a connection within the first six weeks of college, they’re more likely to drop out, leave or transfer somewhere. As leaders, our goal was to help students find connections within those six weeks,” Montgomery said.
While these leaders may get paid for their time, it is the dedication that makes an impactful leader.
WOW experience
With many events on the calendar, students were encouraged to attend whichever ones fit conveniently into their class schedules.
“Rather than just on the First Weekend, then being thrown back to relying on themselves, students had a natural transition into campus life. Overall, I think WOW was a lot more enjoyable,” Montgomery said.
WOW leaders worked the introduction week, according to Montgomery, and after that, had freedom to attend whichever events fit their class schedules. They may not have gotten paid from then on, but that did not discourage their attendance.
“Engagement and attendance was average for our WOW Day 1. We welcomed 555 students to the Check In [who] attended the scheduled events from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Aug. 19,” Laukitis said. “We had over 2,000 students attend at least one WOW event within the first six weeks of school. The 2,000+ students included first year, sophomore, junior, senior and graduate students.”
Laukitis was pleased with the results, and she was not alone in her excitement. Administration agreed with the success of the weeks.
Eric Corbitt is the Dean of Students at WSU. In this position, Corbitt oversees events and programs that impact student life, including the process of introducing students to campus.
“It’s a close tie between a traditional event and a new event,” Corbitt said, when asked which WOW event was his favorite. “Fall fest is always one of my favorite events. It’s like the campus comes back to life after the long summer. And the new paint party was a blast. Students had a great time dancing and getting coated in paint.”
Takeaways and the future of WOW
With this having been the first ever WOW, there are likely to be changes in the future to adjust to what what seen this year.
“I think Fall Fest is always a fan favorite, but also the events that provided collaboration, like Crafternoon in the Library: Diamond Painting with the PALs. The Operation Glow: Paint Party was a huge hit with over 200 students attending during Labor Day Weekend, that was also my favorite,” Laukitis said. “Rec the Night was a blast - Campus Recreation does a great job with providing a unique and fun experience for the students. Raider Bingo had a huge turn out as well, so I'm happy for my colleagues and campus partners to have great success.”
With the partnerships and collaboration that occurred during WOW, students could see the intimacy of WSU’s small campus.
“The biggest takeaway would be the sense of community and accomplishment that the WOW Committee provided to the students. There is always this moment of ‘Wow, we did it! We just did that!’ and I always feel that after we complete the class photo and clap in. But this year, I had that feeling after every week," Laukitis said.
"Looking at the schedule, knowing the time and effort the campus is putting in to serve our students is an overwhelming feeling. I am proud of what we provided for the students, and I hope the students feel the connection to campus and the opportunities that are here for them.”
She also shared her feeling that WOW has shown students the differences in events put on between various departments. Laukitis used the example of Residence Life and Housing, and how its events differ from SIL’s.
“I couldn't ask for a better opportunity to provide an event like WOW,” Laukitis concluded.
In the future, it seems that WOW will continue to look pretty similar to how it did this year, with some simple refinements.
“Moving forward, WOW will continue to strengthen campus life and the WSU community by helping our newest students transition into college life and by facilitating early connections to other students and campus resources,” Corbitt said.
Next year’s WOW will begin in the days immediately before classes and will go on for the same amount of time, six weeks. Students looking to get involved can check Handshake for WOW leader applications.
