SHREVEPORT – When most graduates reflect on their favorite college memories, time spent with friends comes rushing back to the brain.
As another academic year begins Monday, LSUS wants to jumpstart that social bonding process with an action-packed Week of Welcome schedule.
From free donuts on the University Center steps Monday morning to Freshman Convocation on Friday, new and returning students will be inundated with things to do and opportunities to make friends.
“Belonging is really first and foremost in trying to set the culture that LSUS is the home away from home for students,” said Angel Martin, director of student activities and recreational sports at LSUS. “We want them to plug into all that we have here, so we try to showcase all our organizations and departments and the different things we do to support our students.
“New students don’t know about these things, so we try to connect new students with returning students so they are maximizing their experience and not just driving on campus, parking and going to class.”
In addition to new students stepping on campus for the first day of class, new LSUS chancellor Robert Smith will be able to engage with the entire student body for the first time this coming week.
Smith will converse with students between 8-9 a.m. Monday as part of the It’s Sweet to be Home donuts event on the University Center steps (the event lasts from 7:30-10 a.m. overall).
“I have been looking forward to the Week of Welcome since my arrival on campus six weeks ago,” said Smith, who was the provost and vice president at Valdosta State in Georgia for the past six years. “While I have now met numerous faculty and staff, summer has been fairly quiet on the LSUS campus, and I have met only a relatively small number of our students.
“I truly cannot wait until the Week of Welcome and the return of students.”
Other Monday activities include free Cane’s chicken fingers (Catholic Campus Ministry) and free milkshakes (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) at 11 a.m. in the University Center lobby.
Students and organizations can also paint the University Center windows, a tradition that’s making its first appearance since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Pilots, both virtual and in-person, can participate in the Goosechase Scavenger Hunt by downloading the Goosechase app and searching LSUS Week of Welcome. Students who earn the required number of points can receive free LSUS swag.
Week of Welcome T-Shirts will be on sale at the University Center office ($5), where students can also receive food pantry welcome kits.
Intramural sports kicks off with flag football registration starting Tuesday. Entry forms are on Anchored In, the LSUS student activities and organizations app, or you can email recsports@lsus.edu for more information. The deadline is Aug. 30.
Another engagement opportunity is available for virtual students Tuesday night with the Wheel of Prosperity Virtual Game Show (6 p.m.) in which prizes are up for grabs.
Martin said including virtual students is a must considering more than 60 percent of LSUS students attend online classes.
“We know it’s not always easy to be in a certain place at a certain time, but our scavenger hunt and virtual game show is open to everybody,” Martin said. “We’ve gotten really positive feedback from virtual students about being involved in the campus experience.”
The crown jewel of the week is Wednesday’s Week of Welcome Fair (10 a.m.-1 p.m.) in which student organizations are lined along the UC Mall aiming to recruit new members. A carnival atmosphere will abound with food trucks, interactive inflatables, games, photo booths and a virtual rollercoaster.
The frivolity continues Thursday night with the Color Run and Glow Party (7 p.m. at the UC Mall).
“These events get people out of their shell and are huge icebreakers,” Martin said. “I see students walking up to these events alone, you give them a shirt, and they nervously get in line and start chatting with people.
“By the end, I’m having to make people leave because they are busy forming friendships. Almost everybody has a group of friends by the end of these events.”
The week concludes with the more solemn Freshman Convocation on Friday (11 a.m.), the official academic kickoff ceremony that’s designed to give the students a taste of what graduation is like.
The freshmen class will assemble in the UC Theater and absorb advice from university faculty and staff as they begin their college careers.
Smith will attend Wednesday’s Fair and serve as a speaker for Freshman Convocation, soaking in the LSUS atmosphere and interacting with students.
