This issue, Monica Verity, the director of Recreation/associate professor of the practice Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics at Wellesley College, shares advice on programming for welcome week.
Can you share about your first dedicated orientation night event in 2023?
MV: In 2022, I pitched a plan to host at the Keohane Sports Center (KSC) a dedicated Night at the KSC. We are a three-prong department: Physical Education, Recreation and Athletics. Our department was hosting a field hockey game so Athletics purchased clappers for the fans and the Office of Student Involvement sponsored a lemonade slushy truck. We coordinated mini golf, lawn games, open rec volleyball and music in our field house. We did tabling and T-shirts, fitness center tours, and we hosted a dive-in movie at the pool. I also splurged on a balloon arch and a balloon selfie station. The New Student Orientation team sponsored the dive-in movie expenses and decorations.
In 2023, we hosted our second Night at the KSC. In 2024 Athletics hosted a volleyball match where we gave away popcorn and cotton candy, again partnering with Student Involvement. We did roller skating, tabling and T-shirts, fitness center tours, and we hosted another dive-in movie. We also had our National Championship Rowing coaches provide a learn-to-row station next to our two NCAA Rowing trophies. The New Student Orientation team again sponsored the dive-in movie expenses and decorations.
What impact did you see from it over the 2023-2024 academic year?
MV: We’ve seen a huge increase of connection with our students. The KSC felt like more of a home and a comfortable place for all our students, not just our varsity student athletes. We’ve seen more participation of students playing in open rec, working out in our fitness center and dance studios, and students studying in-between classes in our lounge areas. We also noticed a greater class registration in our fall physical education classes.
What are you planning for Welcome Week in 2024?
MV: Our campus partners have made some cutbacks and have communicated they can’t contribute as much as they have the past two years. We also have a major pool facility renovation that broke ground December 2023 and is set to be finished Fall 2024. For our 2024 event, we know we’ll host an event around another home volleyball athletic competition. We’ll have our balloon arches and decorations, fitness tours, tabling and T-shirt stations. We’re thinking of setting up lawn games, an open rec type of play area in the field house and a disc golf course around our facility with QR videos of our student employees talking about ways to rec throughout the year.
As Welcome Week approaches, what last minute advice can you give to other directors?
MV: We’re a small school with a small staffing structure. Our student staff are not back and working so we have to heavily rely on people from other departments. Change is also not easy. I work all year to build relationships and trust among campus partners and my department members for their support. We all get pulled in so many directions, have families, and the fall is full of late nights and weekends. I communicate with as much advance notice as I can of the dates and times where we need helping hands. I also try to have clear communication and directives of job roles for the event.
