With classes now in full swing at the University of Hartford, the Class of 2019 freshmen class will begin their real journeys into what college really is about.
Having gone through LiftOff Orientation this past weekend, many of the freshmen had the opportunity to meet each other to create new friendships and memories.
Many of the memories that the freshmen were able to create were unique in that the returning students did not have the newest addition of the LiftOff Activities.
Previously, orientation included a “Day of Choices” that had five or six events that students could choose to go to on the Sunday of orientation.
Some of these events included a pool party, a trip to Six Flags and even a Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees baseball game.
However, this year, they had what director of orientation Irwin Nussbaum described as “Day of Choices on steroids.”
The new LiftOff Activities not only increased in size by the number of options available, but also with the inclusion of faculty and staff. The events also spanned over two days, Sunday and Monday.
The change in orientation comes from phase one of the University’s Strategic Planning, which focuses on enhancing the first-year experience for students.
With over a thousand students signed up, the three main goals were to get students to meet other students, to get students to meet faculty and staff and to have them feel connected to the University and excited about being here before classes started.
“Before, it was more to get students off-campus and meet each other, rather than tie it back to the goal of the University” Nussbaum told The Informer news editor Spencer Honda.
“Students are meeting each other on these trips, but they can also do that on campus,” assistant director Mike Ormsby said. “Coming back to campus having gone on a trip with a professor and having a class with them or seeing them as they’re walking to class, that develops a little bit more of a connection to the University.”
Some of the off-campus activities included “A Traveling Taste of West Hartford” where students got to sample food from local restaurants, “Floating Down the Farmington and Community Building,” “Writing, and Power: Mark Twain/Harriet Beecher Stowe Houses,” “Connecticut Science Center in downtown Hartford,” “Hiking Talcott Mountain,” “Career Ready” where students got to visit the Hartford Hospital, Stanley Black and Decker and Pratt and Whitney, “Day of Service” and “Arts in Hartford.”
The on-campus events were a “Leadership Workshop,” “Ropes Course and Building Community” and “Scavenger Group Building activity.”
The athletics department also held a two-day interactive expo hosted by student-athletes and coaches showcasing the many resources available at the Sports Center.
This ranged from having workouts of varying degrees, a pool party, playing games and even watching and attending Hartford Hawks events.
The main person who put it together was senior associate provost Guy C. “Chuck” Colarulli, who was the guiding force behind it all.
It was a total team effort with the individual expertise and connections going a long way in pulling strings and making things happen.
“We figured out what might work and we geared ourselves toward the faculty and staff that had an interest in that area,” Nussbaum said, after agreeing that it was just about finding the right fit.
Currently, the students and faculty who went on the LiftOff Activities events are undergoing evaluations and the vast majority of the feedback has been positive.
Orientation may have just finished up, but it’s never too early to look forward to next year.
Nussbaum hopes that it continues to grow and that the enthusiasm and recommendations of the faculty and staff will encourage even more participation next year.