As Chance the Rapper says: “and we back”.
Welcome Week 2018 has come and gone and campus is in full swing. While the week of long activities greeted wide-eyed freshman with new opportunities and friends, what about those who aren’t college rookies anymore?
“Usually, I find when I get back to campus, I am ready to go, and Welcome Week is just a part of that,” senior electrical engineering major Alex Jaeger said. “It’s geared towards freshman to get them accommodated, so it’s not much for the benefit of upperclassmen. By junior or senior year, there isn’t a lot to offer us.”
Welcome Week is a second chance for sophomores to branch out. However, once students have passed the uphill climb in their college careers, the roles inevitably reverse.
Upperclassmen are no longer exploring events like the activities fair for the sake of curiosity or finding a place to fit in. Now, they’re the ones running the booths and recruiting for the organizations.
“Rather than [Welcome Week] being about exploring opportunities to get involved in, it’s more about getting people to be involved in your organizations and activities, and making the freshmen feel welcome,” junior sociology major Mary Kate Paetow-Fanning said.
Upperclassmen spend their time smiling at and schmoozing the newbies on campus, because it’s not about them anymore. These students once received the VIP treatment and didn’t blink at the stress that those who were helping to make their first week easy were going through… until it was their turn.
“It’s very busy and overwhelming,” Fanning went on to say, presumably on behalf of everyone who works tirelessly to make Welcome Week a hit.
From volunteer opportunities, to Greek life welcomes, to informational meetings, it can be draining to come back to campus and be thrust into everything. After all, everyone wants to enjoy their first few days.
Upperclassmen know it’s the firsts that define what follows. The first club at Bradley. The first friends. The first Late Night BU. The beginning of what can be four years of growth and stress and happiness.
That’s why they put in the effort. It’s why Welcome Week matters, whether it’s your first or your fifth (no judgment here on victory laps). We all remember the feeling of our first week at college, and this year, upperclassmen, you gave that to the class of ’22.
Congrats on a Welcome Week with minimal disasters, Bradley – and may we all feel a little of that freshmen excitement come back to us as the semester kicks off.
