Wolfpack Welcome Week Journal 2008

It must have been a busy week, when what used to be a daily chronicle of the exciting events of the previous 24 hours is one long report this year! I have been involved with Wolfpack Welcome Week since soon after the idea hatched in Roger Callanan’s brain, and I have to say, each year I think it can’t get any bigger or better; and yet, each year, it does. I will do my best to recount the highlights of those exciting nine days and recapture for those of you who missed them, the joy of serving students and the satisfaction of jobs well done displayed by each of our Wolfpack Welcome Week planning team members as they rolled out their events.

Friday – Saturday, August 15-16
I wrote to you all that Friday about the happy energy our new international students brought with them to Talley as they participated in their orientation. The African American Symposium and Native American Symposium students I met on Friday morning seemed overjoyed to be officially on campus. I look forward to the report from Multicultural Student Affairs as they assess the one-time symposium approach that was implemented this year. Initial reaction from the staff was very positive, though.

I’m not sure joy is the word I would apply to the parents and students who arrived on campus for move-in on Saturday, but I know for a fact (verified in email to the chancellor) that they were pleased with how well-organized everything was and how gracious the University Housing staff were in welcoming students to their new homes. VIPs on golf carts were also on hand to welcome the new students and to take a look at some of the project work that was completed in the residence halls over the summer.

The Legacy Lunch is always a big hit. Parents “pinning” their students were observed to shed a few tears and I had the opportunity to observe the tears of my own new alumna family member who is not a legacy, but who used her status as a former Alumni Association staff member to elbow her way into the proceedings and join arms with the provost and student body president as they sang the alma mater. The song brings tears to her eyes any time she hears it now. This is the strength of connection to the university that we are seeking with our WWW efforts, isn’t it?

The weather was just about perfect for a move-in day and as evening drew nigh, students found their way to Harris Field, where sorority leaders and volunteers greeted them with ice cream sandwiches (thawed to just the right softness, without dripping down the arms.) By the time the Union Activities Board finished their announcements and started Juno, the lawn was filled with about 1000 students. What a great night to watch a movie outside.

Sunday, August 17
Sunday’s programs started out a little disappointing in terms of turnout for the commuter freshman welcome, but it is still a good program and those who were there appreciated the information. Fortunately, the low numbers were not a portent for the evening, as the Campus RecFest brought in over 4500 students! This is such a great event, with so much free food, games and fun (I especially like the dunk tank) that upperclass students seemed to remember it from previous years and showed up along with hordes of freshmen.

The fun continued as nearly 700 students crowded on the UAB-hosted buses to Target at Crossroads, where there was entertainment to ignite the shopping fever. Target’s investment in the buses to bring the students seemed to have been rewarded, as they reported making over $40,000 during the four-hour event. No wonder Kmart was so sad to lose this opportunity.

Monday, August 18
More new students and parents arrived this morning for their respective orientation programs and it was such fun to meet with parents to tell them about the many opportunities awaiting their students, while outside the window, groups toting tents and tables, tubs and trinkets were preparing to provide an immediate illustration of my talk at Cates Crawl.

Monday’s weather was a little warmer than the weekend, but still nearly 20 degrees cooler than last year for Cates Crawl. This event has really grown, too. Jeff Lail, Campus Activities graduate assistant, had the goal to “fill in the blanks” along the north side of the street and I do believe he accomplished his objective. We had new participants, including student organizations, campus departments and nearby campus merchants (yum, Planet Smoothie!) that joined our staunch regulars in making the event festive, informative and fun. Moving the event to midday, instead of afternoon, lent a challenge for those offices that also tabled at the graduate student orientation fair going on at the same time. We will need to discuss that for next year. As I left campus to go to the RBC Center to begin set-up for the convocation, I saw students beginning to gather on Harris Field for the NSBE cookout.

The Wolfpack Welcome Week Convocation was simply great. The new, centralized bus route made the trips between the RBC Center and campus go faster. The new set-up of the organization fair on the concourse allowed students to keep flowing, or to stop and visit as they wished. The “football line” that started Playfair made even the students who looked dazed and confused laugh and clap their hands as they joined the end of the line. The changes the band brought to their part of the program made it more of the pep rally I had always envisioned. The students who presented The Brick were poised sophomores, inspiring their younger peers in the audience. The dignitaries on the stage kept the program moving and Da Chen, well, Da Chen was ON. What can you say about an author who has so many stories stored in his considerable memory bank? The “stream of consciousness” delivery, launched by an airy flute solo, included tidbits of wisdom and humor, shared with love by a man who is now NC State’s best friend. As Roger Callanan mentioned at lunch with the new common reading committee, Da has set the bar high for all future authors/convocation speakers.

Tuesday, August 19

As I walked to the library Tuesday noon to check out the open house and possibly “get smarter” while I was there, I noted many students walking in the opposite direction toting goody bags and eating ice cream. I mean, MANY students. Sure enough, when I got there, the staff were busy printing more Agent Identification Labels, because, in just 1:20.00 they had already exceeded the number of participants (224) in the two-hour open house last year (155). What a great turnout for a very worthwhile event. At the Welcome Back Pack dinner that evening, I observed Agents 384 and 385, so I knew that there had been even more to come after I left. The Academic Success Workshops were in their second run when I peeked in the doors. I did notice Dr. Callanan’s audience was particularly spellbound.

Taking photos at the various college connection activities, I was struck by how many upperclass students were involved in helping the new students get acclimated through organization displays, small group activities, discussions, entertainment, and lots of ice cream. It is wonderful to include them to introduce the new students to peers who can mentor them, and it helps to spread out the work of the event to young and energetic students! (not that you all are not young/energetic!) I did see Da Chen in action at PAMS and I know that he had a lot of participants at both his conversation in the library and his book signing at the Catalyst bookstore.

The Welcome Back Pack dinner was more than dinner, as always. Students enjoyed the climbing wall and other inflatables, along with a “push-ups for I-Pod” event and free popcorn and ice cream, along with a drawing for fabulous prizes. This was all outside the delicious meal being served inside.

Over at the Tucker/Owen Beach, the first-ever Student Government sponsored volleyball tournament was a big hit. Eighteen teams competed until well after the scheduled ending time, but that didn’t matter—no homework for anyone that night! I think this is destined to be a regular WWW event.

Wednesday, August 20

IRC and IFC’s Chillin’ and Grillin’ event looked like the best-organized version of this event in recent history. It was great to see the collaboration and cooperation between these two groups, and especially to have such a nice event in the newly-landscaped beauty of the Tucker/Owen beach. What a great outdoor space for an event, or just for chilling. What didn’t cooperate that night was the weather! It was actually a little weird—big, fat raindrops falling from a blue sky made me shake my head and think “this is not going to amount to anything.” I was soon proved wrong as the clouds moved on in and the steady shower continued for at least 20 minutes. It is hard to wish the rain away after over a year of praying for it, but I did feel bad for IRC and IFC—who scampered around in the showers, cleaning up everything—as their great event was ended prematurely. Only 1500 students had been served up to that point!

Thursday, August 21

One of our new events in the WWW lineup this year was the On-Campus Job Fair, coordinated by graduate assistant Anne Aichele and sponsored by Student Government, Financial Aid and the University Career Center. With over a score of university departments and over 200 students, the job fair clearly filled a need for the campus. I observed one department to have posted a sign outside their office door earlier in the summer “we will only take applications at the job fair on August 23” which allowed them to avoid the disruptions to their operation that many departments experience when students are returning to campus and making the rounds to find jobs. The fair provided an opportunity for departments to concentrate their efforts to fill available positions and for students to see what their options were without having to wander the campus. I believe we will also see this new event as a continuing offering on the WWW schedule.

BSB’s Back to School Jam is a traditional event that still just keeps getting bigger and better. Over 500 students and friends enjoyed the cookout and entertainment this year. I’m always impressed with the NPHC organizations, Black Finesse, Dance Visions, Fusion and other entertainment groups who perform. They have only been back together for a few days by that time—yet, their exhibitions are so well done. The participation in the organization fair, too, seemed to include more groups than ever before. The Black Students Board leaders did such a great job. Their advisor was in class and her supervisor said he felt that he wasn’t even needed there!

The Fall Fitness Fest saw about 100 mixed-gender participants in high energy mode. Of course, I’m glad I had my camera as an excuse not to join in! Great door prizes and opportunities to sample the various types of workout routines that are offered on a regular basis provided a good balance to all of the free food that had been offered to this point throughout the week. A healthy alternative, to say the least.

Friday, August 22

I may not be able to claim that Friday Fest is a healthy alternative, food-wise, but it certainly was good, clean fun. What a gorgeous evening we had to enjoy some smooth R&B with a little rough hip-hop thrown in. I know I’m bragging on my own people here, but the organization of the Union Activities Board staff and students is pretty amazing. I blocked out the afternoon to help, but was told I wasn’t needed—everything was already taken care of. Many thanks to the CAMPUS Coalition and other staff volunteers, along with University Police, University Housing and a multitude of student volunteers, this huge concert and festival ran like a well-oiled machine.

Saturday, August 23

I was pleased and surprised to see some of the student workers from Friday night out at the Service NC State on Saturday. This speaks to the inspirational power of Service NC State. I have already used so many superlative adjectives to describe the WWW events that happened before this remarkable program, that I am at a loss for new superlatives to apply here. It always makes my heart swell to see the assembly lines at work to package the food for Stop Hunger Now. Traditionally multi-generational and multi-cultural, this year they were also multi-institutional. Groups of students from St. Aug’s, Peace and Meredith were on hand when I stopped by. Everyone smiled, everyone hustled, everyone was eager to meet the goal. Three large trucks, filled with students waiting to receive and stack carefully the boxes of meal packages, were parked on Cates Avenue, including a transfer truck, wedged just under the museum overhang at Talley. In conjunction with similar activities running simultaneously at ECU and UNC-Chapel Hill, the goal of one million meals was easily achieved. If you did not see the News & Observer article on Sunday, go dig it out of your recycle bin. It did capture nicely the spirit and commitment that accompany this program. I think it has a lot to do with the instant—and significant—results that are achieved with relatively small effort in a relatively small amount of time (3 hours per shift). Everyone can take pride in knowing that they have contributed to stopping hunger now.

Sunday, August 24

Finally, 100 students wrapped up Wolfpack Welcome Week on our behalf at NC State Night at the Durham Bulls. Hosted by the Student Wolfpack Club, led by past president John Cooper “Coop” Elias, they assembled as directed at Talley and boarded buses provided by the Wolfpack Club and University Towers to head over to the DBAP. Baseball Coach Elliot Avent caught the opening pitch from Carolina Hurricane Justin Williams after Pack Idol 08 winner Neil Vaidya sang the National Anthem. And, although the Bulls did not win, our NC State delegation, including a past Student Body President, represented us well. Coop reported that everyone had a great time and expressed that the Student Wolfpack Club wants to sponsor the event again next year. We’ll have to see what the Bulls schedule looks like as to whether it will fit into WWW 09.

OK—that’s it, I guess. If I’ve forgotten anything, I trust someone will send me a reminder so I can amend the journal. I have not even tried to name everyone who deserves the credit in terms of praise and thanks for jobs so well done. I believe we will reap the rewards in the coming months and even years, as our WWW vision and goals are met through students who achieve, belong and connect on their way to graduation.