Communications senior MW Kaplan attended Week of Welcome (WOW) in 2019, one year before WOW went virtual due to COVID-19. They said they are a multi-disabled person, meaning they have several disabilities that inhibit their daily functions. They have systemic illnesses that are considered to be medical disabilities, as well as mental and neurodevelopmental disabilities. […]
Tag: WOW
The experience we never got: A thank you note to third-year WOW leaders
Grace Schweitzer is a psychology junior and opinion columnist for Mustang News. The views expressed in this piece don’t necessarily reflect those of Mustang News. Two years ago, my fellow incoming first years and I found ourselves sitting behind computer screens, either stuck at home or sitting alone in their dorm rooms far from home during their […]
Transfer students navigate college social life post-COVID-19
Transfer business administration junior Samuel Dea-huang sat down on his first day of classes, anticipating meeting new people. However, looking around the classroom and seeing numerous students talking with friends from previous years, Dea-huang said he realized being a transfer student might be harder than he expected. Dea-huang said he could only imagine what meeting […]
“We want to grow”: WOW’s Cross-Cultural Experience is for more than the minority identity groups on campus
One month after Cal Poly hosted its Week of Welcome (WOW) orientation program for its incoming class, students reflect on the program’s Cross-Cultural Experience (CCE) option — one that students say is underadvertised yet impactful. The CCE program, a branch of WOW, launched in 2018 to give a comfortable space to Cal Poly students from […]
Week of Welcome – another experience sophomores, or the forgotten class, were robbed of
Everyone in San Luis Obispo knows it. It’s the shiniest jewel on the Cal Poly crown – the unforgettable highlight of many of our students’ college careers – and one of the most well thought out and over-the-top orientation programs in the nation. Week Of Welcome (WOW), nationally ranked and rightfully so, epitomizes the idealized […]
A look at Cal Poly’s Campus Comeback
Cal Poly’s award-winning orientation, or the Week of Welcome (WOW), introduces first-year students to campus through a week full of in-person activities and events. For incoming students last year, WOW was unable to take place in person, leaving many students without that same orientation experience. This year, Cal Poly introduced a new program – the […]
Students reflect on an in-person WOW
As Cal Poly welcomes the majority of students back on campus this fall, new students were able to experience an in-person Week of Welcome (WOW) after a year of virtual learning and activities. WOW is a five-day orientation that marks the start of the Cal Poly experience for freshmen and transfer students, consisting of a […]
What to expect at WOW this year
The award-winning Week Of Welcome (WOW) has undergone some changes this year, developing condensed group activities, more outdoor engagement and mask requirements to adapt to the recent COVID-19 guidelines. WOW will take place Sept. 15-19. It is set to be in person this year and jam-packed with immersive activities. Unlike last year’s virtual setup, WOW […]
WOW should include Kristin Smart to educate students and honor her legacy
As a freshman, I walked everywhere with an unjust amount of confidence and sense of safety. I lived in North Mountain and my friend’s dorm, where I spent a majority of my time at night, was in Yakʔitʸutʸu, exactly half a mile away from mine. Every night I would make the walk back to my […]
Award-winning orientation program gone virtual: How did it really go?
“I think we were all nervous,” psychology senior Gonzalez said. “But we have a really good team that we worked with this whole year that made us feel better about putting it on.”
Orientation leaders prepare for WOW and SLO Days online
Despite New Student and Transition Programs’ (NSTP) shift to a virtual spring training for orientation leaders, group facilitators kept the spirit of Tuesday night meetings alive. Facilitators’ role was to prepare leaders-in-training (LITs) to lead incoming students during SLO Days and Week of Welcome (WOW). From hosting LIT speed-dating icebreakers to sending videos of pets […]