Spanning Aug. 19 to Oct. 3, Student Involvement and Leadership (SIL) hosts Weeks of Welcome (WOW) for new and returning students at Wright State University (WSU).
Events began before classes started and are centered mainly around first-year students. However, the rest of the student body is still encouraged to join in on the many WOW events on campus.
One of the main events that attracted people’s attention was the Party at BARTy, hosted by the Fraternity and Sorority Council on Aug. 20. Students gathered around BART for a night of music and fun.
The large range of events across all of the colleges at WSU provided the students with the chance to explore general and targeted groups.
Tacie Goddard, a freshman nursing student, attended the College of Health, Education and Human Services (CHEM) kickoff to explore more of the programs and services available to her with her major.
“[Since] I’m interested in Nursing and [CHEM] is the college it’s within, I figured it would be good to reach out and meet people,” Goddard said.
First-year students are able to explore not only opportunities within WSU, but also locations offered outside of campus for exploratory forms of education. This includes Lonnie Thompson, a freshman English education major, who attended the Taste of College of Liberal Arts (COLA) event.
“I [love] hearing about the different opportunities WSU has, especially study abroad. I always wanted to go to different places outside of the U.S.,” Thompson said.
When asked about the other WOW events, Goddard and Thompson mentioned that they had been to events such as the BRICK cafe and the Kick-Off Celebration. With many of the events being centered around bigger areas of campus, students were exposed to large groups of people they had not interacted with before.
“I would think [my favorite part] is the people. I have met more people than I ever have in my hometown. [It’s] really allowed me to connect with similar personalities on campus," Thompson said.
However, for students located in the Creative Arts Center (CAC) for most of their classes, the events have not felt as inclusive, according to students.
Sarah Knifley, a freshman and music education major, spoke about what she believed could be improved with WOW events.
“I wish I had more opportunities and knew more about the different events and what’s going on. I’m in the CAC all day long, so I haven’t had the chance to [see other places]," Knifley said.
Even though Knifley had not been able to attend many WOW events, she did have positive feedback on the population of WSU.
“I feel like the environment is my [favorite part]. Everyone’s really nice, and I’ve been able to talk to a lot of people," Knifley said.
