UPEI welcomes new students to campus
The University of Prince Edward Island welcomed hundreds of new students and their families during this weekend's welcome events including International Welcome Day, UPEI's Welcome Day, and the kick-off to UPEI Student Union's O-Week.
International Welcome Day on Friday, August 30, gave students from outside of Canada the opportunity to experience student life at UPEI, get to know the campus and surrounding areas, and help students transition to life in Canada.
UPEI's second annual Welcome Day took place on Saturday, August 31, allowing students to 'one-stop-shop' all things UPEI as they toured around campus, paid for their tuition and other fees, picked up their ID cards and meal plans, registered for courses, and much more.
'Welcome Day is an opportunity for students to come together, meet their peers, professors, UPEI staff and faculty, and get all of their UPEI questions answered,' said Manager of Student Affairs Treena Smith. 'By getting familiarized with campus before classes begin, students alleviate their stress and uncertainty. It's an exciting day for all involved.'
This year parents were able to alleviate some of their stress too at sessions that were offered to provide university life information and tips for parents on how to support their university student. A couple of the sessions were specifically geared to parents with students living in residence.
The UPEI Student Union was also on site at Welcome Day with an information booth to answer questions on the upcoming orientation week events. Orientation Week, or O-Week, starts Saturday night with PlayFair-a popular campus attraction during university orientation weeks that introduces a non-threatening way for students to meet each other. O-Week takes place August 31-September 7 with a variety of activities including a barbecue, a pancake breakfast, guest speaker Drew Dudley, The O-Mazing Race, Shine Day, and more.
Many UPEI students look forward to Shine Day and with approximately $5,000 in online donations to date, are hoping to reach this year's goal of $33,000. UPEI has been taking part in Shinerama-Canada's largest post-secondary fundraiser for cystic fibrosis research and treatment-since 1977 and is known for its successful Shinerama campaigns. In 2010, UPEI raised $26,000; in 2011 it raised $32,000; and in 2012, raised $30,000.
UPEI staff, faculty, and the Student Union welcome new students as they transition to university life. These welcome events give students the chance to meet new friends, and familiarize themselves with campus before classes even begin.
