More than 475 future Warriors swarmed the California State University, Stanislaus Friday at the first of five New Student Orientations to prepare incoming students for life at the Turlock campus.
“The key for us is to ensure that this event is engaging for students and offers them resources so that they can have a successful academic and social experience at CSU Stanislaus,” said Clarissa Lonn-Nichols, director of Student Leadership and Development. “It’s important for us to let these new students know what resources are available for them.”
With a focus on holistic development, students spent the day learning not only academic and logistical information such as learning how to navigate the campus and where to buy a parking pass, but were also afforded the opportunity to explore social clubs and associations as well. From the Student Nursing Association to a multitude of sororities and fraternities, hundreds of veteran students showed their Warrior pride by setting up informational booths and chatting with incoming students during the Campus Showcase portion of the event.
“Everyone’s been really helpful and as soon as you make eye contact with someone they offer you information and help which is really nice,” said incoming freshman Juan Ayala, a soon to be first generation college student from Merced.
The Campus Showcase is a relatively new phenomenon that allows the student organizations and various CSUS departments to host informational booths so that incoming students can pursue extracurricular activities that interest them. Previously, students would receive information in a seminar style setting, but according to Lonn-Nichols, “the talking heads get boring for students” so the idea of a dynamic and interactive fair was born.
The Campus Showcase is just one component of the new students’ day which includes receiving information on a variety of topics such as class registration, graduation requirements, campus living, financial aid and more. However, the objective of the New Student Orientation is not to overwhelm students with information, but rather to expose them to all that the CSUS community has to offer.
The first of five New Student Orientations, Friday’s event was geared towards incoming freshmen as will next Friday’s and the one on July 18. July 23 and July 25 New Student Orientations will be geared toward transfer students.
