On September 6, a day before classes officially began, UFV hosted its new student orientation, “Day One.” The event was a collaborative effort between the Student Union Society (SUS), the Student Life team, and UFV. The day featured an invocation ceremony, followed up by introductory orientation sessions split up by student programs, and finishing with a scavenger hunt hosted by the SUS. The day also allowed students a chance to get their campus cards before the official start of classes.
Alec Zinman, the orientation assistant and Table Top Games club president, gave a heartfelt speech at the invocation ceremony. Zinman regaled a story of his first week at UFV and how sometimes the most unexpected interactions can lead to lifelong friends and a path to discovering who you are in life. He mentioned, “I found a community that supported me and helped me grow.”
The program of study-based orientation sessions allowed students to have an opportunity to meet and greet with fellow students. The Bachelor of Arts program students were given an “amazing race” style scavenger hunt where they were required to locate different faculty departments in different buildings to collect stickers. This activity mainly focused on giving the students a chance to look through the buildings (D and C) they would most likely find themselves in. Upon completion, they would be rewarded with a UFV College of Arts themed bag of goodies.
After the orientation sessions, there was a services fair and barbecue lunch for the new students to enjoy. The services fair gave new students the opportunity to get a good look at different campus resources and how they can make use of them. Some of the groups presented at the fair were the Academic Success Centre, Supported Learning groups, SUS, the Peer Resource and Leadership Center, CIVL radio, and many more. The Cascade student-run newspaper also had our very own table set up for students to learn more about how they can get involved. Many of the booths set up hosted activities for students to get engaged with.
A group of new UFV students were interviewed for their thoughts on the Day One event. When asked about her experience during the orientation, Gianna Dinwoodie said, “We got lost a lot, but at least it was bonding.” Another first year student, Jenna Strickler, noted, “If we hadn’t all been here for the orientation, we wouldn’t have met.”
A couple of international students, Anika Jacobi and Svenja Kulbrock, explained that in Germany, where they are from, orientation day events are not something that they normally have in university. Kulbrock commented, “It’s different, but I really like it.” It was also noted that the event helped in adjusting to the new social climate that would be coming once the semester was in full swing.
The day ended with an in depth scavenger hunt for all new students, hosted by the SUS team. The main focus of the activity was to give students a chance to explore the different buildings on campus and to learn more about the school they would very soon be attending. Students that participated would go from building to building, needing to answer various trivia questions in relation to UFV.
Day One gave new students the opportunity to make early connections with fellow students and explore the Abbotsford campus. The day was packed full of activities and gave students a fresh introduction to their post-secondary life at UFV.
Emmaline is working on her BA and ambitions to become an English teacher. They always say, those who cannot do, teach. She spends her free time buying, reading, and hoarding books with the hope that one day she will have no furniture and instead only have piles of books.
