WashU first-year student Ian Pentland got a superstar’s welcome as he walked into Umrath House Aug. 15.
“They were applauding and cheering,” said Pentland, of Kennebunk, Maine. “Everyone was like, ‘Let’s go.’ I wasn’t expecting that, but it was really nice.”
Pentland was one of the 1,970 first-year students who moved into the South 40 during the weekend. Over the next several weeks, he and his classmates will learn more about WashU’s academic resources, student groups and boba tea options. But on this day, WashU resident advisors (RAs), WashU Student Associates (WUSAs) and student leaders have one goal: to make every new student feel at home.
“I want to recreate for everyone what I felt on my first day,” said Umrath House RA Omar Soltan, a junior at the McKelvey School of Engineering. “I was nervous, I was with my parents. And then everyone started clapping. It made me feel like I belonged here.”
“Those first moments can help make that nervousness go away and build a foundation for the rest of the year,” added fellow Umrath RA Hertier Umuragwa, a senior at McKelvey Engineering. “Now they know they have someone here who cares about them, who can answer their questions.”
WUSA Palladium Liang had a lot of questions when he arrived here from Cottleville, Mo. His WUSA helped him navigate campus, introduced him to students with similar interests and taught him how to manage his mealpoints. She also told him not to be afraid.
“There is something magical about the first-year transition, and it starts on the very first day,” said Liang, a McKelvey Engineering student and an executive for several student organizations. This week and throughout the year, he and his fellow WUSAs will host small-group and one-on-one meetings with students from their assigned floor. “I came here as a scared student from a just-OK high school. My WUSA gave me real advice about how to make friends and get out there. Without that, I would have never discovered my passion for chemistry, being good at this class, this extracurricular activity.”
Student Union President Ashton Lee said that building community is more important than ever in these divided times. He said Student Union hopes to create some new all-campus traditions this year and will co-host a large tailgate party Sept. 6 before the Bears football game against Rhodes College.
“So many of our communities are facing challenges, whether it’s our international students or low-income students or students of color or Jewish students. All of these students might not feel welcome online and in their neighborhoods,” said Lee, a student in Arts & Sciences. “And what WashU does really well is to help students find a community of people here when we can’t always find it in other places.”
Fall Welcome continues this week with a range of academic, career and social events, including Night at the Rec at the Sumers Rec Center, Career Conversations with Center for Career Engagement, leadership and purpose workshops with the Bauer Leaders Academy, an “In the Lou” panel with Campus Life, “Dialogue Across Difference” (DxD) workshops and a Shakespeare in the Park performance in Tisch Park. Fall Welcome concludes with Convocation and a party in Tisch Park on Saturday, Aug. 23. The first day of class is Aug. 25.
