First-year students have a new, six-week series of classes available to them covering a number of topics that might be unfamiliar during their first time on campus. The “Welcome to the Flock” classes will cover nutrition, the Student Recreation Center, healthy sexual relationships, money management and more.
The classes will occur twice a week for the first six weeks of fall term. According to Julia Wysocka, the student director for transition programs who leads the series, “The first six weeks of any freshman experience are usually the most challenging. A lot of students face disclusion; they feel lost.”
Wysocka said the classes are meant to guide first-year students through these challenging topics and connect them with campus resources, as well as introduce them to new people at the University of Oregon.
The classes are organized by the first-year Welcome Team. This year, the group planned the Week of Welcome activities that took place the first several days of the term.
Reflecting on why she wanted to be a part of of the student orientation team, Wysocka recalled her own high school and first-year experiences.
“I personally didn’t have a great high school experience and transition to university was a little hard for me just because I was from out of state,” said Wysocka. She said this experience guided her choice to become a student orientation staffer and, new this year, a leader of the Welcome Team.
The first week of the program has already begun. On Thursday, the team sought to help students discover “What’s a Vegetable?” with their second class, which centered around campus dining options and meal point budgeting.
Following a presentation from the Welcome Team about the various venues and options across campus, an activity tasked participants with planning a week’s worth of meals while staying within their meal point budget — a challenge all students living in the residence halls must come to master.
Anna Mattson, a journalism and international studies major from Tillamook, Oregon, attended the class to “find better options for food on campus.” Mattson has some goals she wanted to work toward by attending the class, specifically to “eat less starches and less sugar, and eat more protein.”
Mattson said the information from the class was useful for introducing her to resources where she can get the food she needs. Given what she learned at one class, Mattson said she might attend some of the upcoming sessions as well.
Wysocka, a senior, said she is most excited for the budgeting class scheduled for Oct. 29.
“No one’s ever really sat down with me and talked about saving money, or what loans really are,” said Wysocka. “No one ever really told me when I need to start making payments or what type of loans I have.”
According to the program’s website, upcoming sessions include “Welcome to Eugene,” with tips for navigating the city and a trip to dinner downtown; “Getting Swole,” with a guided tour of the Rec and “What Exactly is an Orgasm?,” focusing on healthy sexual relationships.