This years’ New To SMU events have operated differently than they have in the past. With virtual events, Student Affairs & Services and SMUSA were able to provide students with more than two solid weeks of activities. New To SMU started in July and will continue until the end of September. Turnout has been steady throughout and students have been engaging with facilitators and building relationships with their peers.
“To make the New To SMU engaging and successful virtually, we had to create a new approach,” says Lyndsay Anderson, Chair of the Welcome Activities Planning Group. “We thought about what the main goals were to benefit the students and came up with new online activities that would still meet those goals.”
The Santamarian ceremony was especially successful as a virtual event. On Zoom, new students were wearing their Saint Mary’s colours and added a campus background to their screens. Each student was asked to virtually sign the university registry which will be added to the physical book at a later date. As their official welcome into Saint Mary’s, to operate this event online was very important to the students.
Another ongoing event that has received a lot of great feedback is the Trivia events. Students are able to engage with each other on a social level to create those important peer relationships.
A new program for new students this year is the peer coach program. This program provides each student with a peer coach who they can have direct contact with if they have any questions or concerns. Students are facing new challenges by entering into a virtual university, and the peer coach program provides students with the support they need.
New To SMU events are still taking place and students are encouraged to check out the schedule at www.smu.ca/NewToSMU.
If you have any questions, please email welcome@smu.ca.