On Friday, Aug. 17, over 200 freshmen started their academic careers at Lyon College. To help the students settle into their new home, Lyon hosted Weeks of Welcome (WOW), a week-long lineup of events beginning after freshmen move onto campus.
Freshmen participated in an assortment of activities ranging from a community art project to a part-time job fair. Students continued the tradition of competing in the annual freshman raft race across Bryan Lake. WOW also hosted several informational events including residential hall meetings and an alcohol and drugs safety speaker.
Student Activities Director Unswella Ankton facilitated the events, and she found that WOW’s service project event was one of the most popular and successful among students. For this year’s service project, the freshmen assembled over 21,000 meals for local hunger relief programs in only two hours.
“Overall, I think Weeks of Welcome went very, very well,” said Ankton. “Everybody had their hands in this year for the service project. We reached out on social media to ask students to tell us what events they enjoyed so far, and about 90 percent of students said the service project was their favorite event.”
Upperclassmen also helped with WOW activities. Many wanted to help with the events that they also participated in when they were freshmen.
“WOW is important for freshmen because it provides a way for them to get to know each other, and it’s facilitated with the help and support of their new community,” said student Hannah Smithee.
“I bonded with my roommate during WOW and now I have a forever friend,” said student Laura Mendez.
