By Piper Rutherford | Staff Writer
New Student Welcome Weekend helped transfer students acclimate to campus and find friends from different states and countries before the first few days of classes.
According to Welcome Experiences, 91 students registered for Welcome Weekend this year, which began on Jan. 17. Of these 91 new students, 54 are from Texas, 26 are out of state, and 11 are international students.
Lead coordinator for Welcome Experiences, Jesse Ross, said he thinks transfer students are different from normal students not only because they come from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, but also because they intentionally sought out Baylor after their previous university failed to live up to their expectations.
“My office sees transfer students cherish Baylor in a different way,” Ross said. “A lot of times, they had to go through the extra steps to get into Baylor after being at another institution, and because of this they have significant buy-in and know how they want to get involved.”
Despite having a game plan, Ross said that many new students carry with them the concern that they will not find enough people to connect with.
“Especially when thinking about coming in the spring semester rather than the fall, it is clear that not as many new students are enrolling,” Ross said. “As for other core Baylor traditions that occur in the fall, like football games, some new students also feel like they are missing out.”
This sense of being left behind is what Welcome Weekend aims to combat.
Some of the events that new students got to participate in together during Welcome Weekend included Late Night in the SUB, a visit to Cameron Park Zoo, cheering on the basketball team at their game versus TCU, and traveling down to Independence.
“The Independence trip in particular helps students feel like they are joining the Baylor family by seeing the original campus and location of Baylor, walking through the historic columns and getting their Line jerseys they can wear next fall when they have the chance to run the line,” Ross said. “It is a rite of passage moment that they get to share with other students who are also new like them.”
Houston junior Maysie Krause, who attended New Student Weekend in January 2023, remembers making genuine connections in Independence with her new friends.
“We got to write on a rock about what our hope was for our experience at Baylor, while prayer and worship music was playing in the background,” Krause said. “I knew then that Baylor was going to be a different experience from my last university, and I had a lot of hope in that moment that Baylor was the perfect place for me.”
Those bonds Krause made that weekend are some of her closest friends today, as she enters her final semester before senior year.
“Life as a transfer at Baylor has been the best college decision I have ever made,” Krause said. “Because of Welcome Weekend, I have grown with my fellow transfers, who play on the football team, were in my logic class, or are getting married soon.”
