By Ashlyn Beck | Staff Writer
While the spring Welcome Weekend might be less known than its fall counterpart, it’s a beneficial time for transfers and new students to become established at Baylor, said Dr. Nathan Shelburne, director of New Student Programs.
“Our team comes alongside them to help them feel ready and prepared for their first semester, whether that’s fall semester or spring semester,” Shelburne said.
One of the biggest differences between fall Welcome Week and spring Welcome Weekend is the number of students who attend, with 3,700 in the fall and between 250 and 300 in the spring, Shelburne said .
Further, Shelburne said the students who attend are more diverse. In the fall, most students are right out of high school. In the spring, they might have taken a semester off of school or be transferring from a different college.
“The percentage of students who [have] not previously had a college experience so far is much smaller out of the overall group than it would be in the fall, so [it’s] smaller and just more diverse in terms of what their experiences have been,” Shelburne said.
Shelburne said Welcome Weekend still emphasizes relationship building and student involvement.
“It’s critically important that they’re able to start to build friendships and relationships with peers,” Shelburne said. “They will have the opportunity to hear from or learn about involvement opportunities, much like they would at orientation, and begin to establish connections on campus with resources, departments [and] services.”
Presenters and leaders encourage students to take steps toward involvement, which might include speaking with a student involvement specialist during the semester.
“We are encouraging them absolutely to build connections during Welcome Week, but we’re also in large part trying to set them up to seek out on their own proactively throughout the semester,” Shelburne said.
Shelburne said it’s challenging to help transfers and new students get involved in campus activities in the spring, since the fall has several staple events like move-in, homecoming and Mass Meeting. As a result, Shelburne said he encourages students to look forward to fall events while also being aware of spring traditions.
“We are trying to introduce them to some of those things that they had to look forward to and encourage them to take advantage of those,” Shelburne said.
At Welcome Weekend, Shelburne said they do not treat students as if they are brandnew. Instead, they acknowledge that many students have already had a college experience and emphasize what is specific to the Baylor experience.
“We have to do our best to try and … introduce [students] to the things that are really pillars of the Baylor experience that we want all of [them] to take advantage of and participate in,” Shelburne said.
Denver, Colo., sophomore Molly Merson is a transfer student who participated in Welcome Weekend last year. She said Welcome Weekend was a helpful experience for her and was where she met some of her current friends.
“Obviously coming in as a transfer, I didn’t really know anybody, and so I was very hesitant,” Merson said. “But I feel like they did a great job at Welcome Weekend of providing enough structure that it wasn’t awkward.”
Merson said Welcome Weekend was essentially an abridged version of orientation, Line Camp and Welcome Week. It included small groups, a trip to Independence and the opportunity to receive their Line jerseys.
“When you come in as a transfer, you’re entering a whole different culture and world halfway through the year, which can be kind of daunting,” Merson said.
Merson said getting outside of her comfort zone and making connections with others helped her acclimate to Baylor.
“Just put yourself out there,” Merson said. “I kind of shrink away when things are awkward or really new, but I just like to push myself to put myself out there, and I think it really paid off.”
According to Merson, a big part of her seamless transfer experience was other students coming alongside her and helping her become comfortable at Baylor. She said she would encourage transfer students to accept the help of established students and ask for help when they need it.
“It’s not going to happen overnight,” Merson said. “Those small things daily that you can do to get connected and make yourself feel like you’re part of the community are super important. Don’t get ahead of yourself. Kind of take it as it comes.”
