It was that time of year again. Time to roll out the red carpet and welcome in the new freshmen. To help them get settled in, Orientation Week was packed with all sorts of events.
Cane Kickoff gave a warm welcome to all incoming students, introducing them to their Orientation Groups. Once sorted into their groups, freshmen were led by their Orientation Assistants [OA’s] through different interest sessions to inform them about what being a Miami Hurricane is all about. One of these, “We All Bleed Orange and Green,” was a session aimed at lighting the fire of school spirit and clueing the freshmen in on all the great traditions at UM.
“I think [Orientation] gives freshmen a sense of friends and family and it helps them with a lot of questions that they have when they come to school,” Emily Harmon, sophomore and OA, said.
“I’ve really liked [my UM experience] so far. Orientation has really helped me get used to everything,” says Kristen Avery, incoming freshman from New York. “My goals are to get to know a lot of people, do well in school, and just experience being down here because it’s really different from where I live.”
“There’s so many things you can do,” says Cristina Nevala, freshman. “It’s overwhelming in the sense that everything is thrown at you at one time, but it’s also exciting because it’s so many new things.”
“Everyone has been really friendly, all the people, the OA’s, they’re all very helpful, and I think [college life] is going to be a lot of fun,” says Andy Kirou, freshman coming to UM from Belgium.
Another main event during Orientation week was CaneFest, an evening where students learned about over 200 student organizations that exist on campus while enjoying free food, games, music, and giveaways.
“I wanted to join some clubs and I must have given my e-mail out to like 58 different ones,” Nevala said. “CaneFest was very helpful because you can’t really find out about every [club] unless you’re looking for that information, so it’s a way to see what’s out there.”
Aside from all of the orientation events, freshmen had one more thing to look forward to: moving into their dorm rooms.
“[Moving in] was kind of crazy, but it was fun.,” says Nevala. “I’m getting used to living there and not at home, it’s kind of weird. I’m taking it better than I thought.
Christine Dominguez can be contacted at c.dominguez3@umiami.edu.