Welcome Week at Creighton is a big deal, and it's a new student's first real look at what their college experience will look like! Therefore, if you are a new student, it's important to keep in mind a few things before diving in for all the events. It's key to always remember that all the leaders are there for you and no one else!
1. The Importance of RSP
RSP is the group you will go through Welcome Week with and attend class once a week together. Coming in, I, along with many others, assumed that this would just be "another typical intro to college class." While some aspects of the class are like that, they are there for your own good as they help you adapt to your school's lifestyle, in this case Creighton. The rest of the time together in RSP however, is spent discovering new passions and meeting some of your best friends. Granted not every single person in your RSP will be your best friend, but I can almost guarantee you that you'll feel an instant connection with some of your group and a deep, genuine connection with at least one. From my experience, I grew so close with one other person that they visited me back home before flying back to Hawaii.
2. Listen to your leaders.
Let me start with a quick synopsis of the leaders and what they do as I know it took me until the end of Welcome Week to figure it out. First the decurion, who is typically a junior or senior that helps lead your RSP and helps the Advisor with lesson plans throughout the entire semester. The Beadle is typically a sophomore or junior is more like a mentor. This person attends every single class and WW session and is always willing to meet with you if you are struggling. The final student leader position is the Guide. This person is there for you just during just WW. Officially. They are another person that is there entirely for you during the beginning of your transition to Creighton. These leaders all hold slightly different positions but with just one end goal: to make sure you transition to college well in the best way possible and to be there for you for anything you may need. As a guide myself I can personally share how excited we are to meet you. Part of what made our own experience so well at Creighton were through the connections we made during WW which is why we jumped on the opportunity to do this for someone else. Don't be embarrassed to ask something as chances are either someone else is worried about the same thing or the leaders went through it just a few years earlier.
3. Meeting People
Speaking from personal experience, I was both extremely excited and nervous to be moving into my dorm/starting college in a completely different environment. This is a completely normal reaction as most new students are going to be truly independent for the first time ever. To make your college experience even more memorable, it is so important to step out of your comfort zone, especially the first month. You'll find yourself getting interested in things maybe you haven't before and meeting people who become your closest friends who you may not have met if not for breaking out of your shell.
4. Open Door Policy
This goes hand in hand with number three. Most RA's will recommend to instigate an open door policy in order to bring more unity to the floor. This allows people on a floor to be more social with each other and gives them the ability to learn more and more people. A perfect example of when this would be useful is if you are really hungry and are looking for someone to go to Brandeis with you. With one step outside your door, you could see who's home and ask one of them to accompany you.
5. CU Survival
This event, in my humble opinion, is one of the best events to attend. It is more than just the typical "beware the dangers of alcohol/drugs" and touches on topics that are not usually shared. This performance also adds a little bit of humor as some topics are very deep. There are four different showings of this, and if I could I would probably go to all four. It will honestly stay with you as the different perspective connects with you.
6. Lip Sync
This is a great tradition for welcome week. Each pair of RSP competes to see who can give the best performance to a collection of songs from an artist/group going along with the theme of the year. You may be thinking "Oh great, why are they making me do this? It's going to be so embarrassing." However, let me just tell you that is the wrong attitude to go into this event with. Lip sync is so much fun and the way to ensure you have the best time is to let loose, be confident, and leave it all on the stage. No one is going to think "omg that girl is so over the top." If anything, everyone will think you're a really cool person. After the RSP competition, every Greek organization also competes with one another. Not only is it fun to watch more lip sync, but it's also an opportunity to see more of each organizations' style/creativity.
7. The Event
This year the Event is taking place on Sunday, August 21st. I'm not going to say much because that would ruin the surprise, but you're just going to have to trust me and be prepared to be AMAZED! I will tell you that it is one of those events that you'll remember forever.
8. Sunday Night Showdown
Directly after the Event, Sunday Night Showdown occurs which I also do not want to give away too much information and spoil the surprise. I will however tell you two thngs. One, be sure to bring your competitive self. Second, get ready to bond with your RSP as well as the other people in your new class.
9. Skutt Shutdown
This is by far one of the best events of welcome week. Not only do you get a lot of free food and things (like water bottles and t-shirts) which already makes this event going worthwhile, but it also introduces you to lots of the hundreds of different clubs and organizations on campus. Personally, I joined two clubs that night which I never would have heard of on my own, and these clubs have become so important to me. It's also just a great study break if you just can't concentrate on that biology or COM 101 assignment.
10. Events May Seem Boring and Repetitive But...
It may feel as if you are hearing a lot of the same information, and sometimes the presentations do overlap, but in the grand scheme of things it is important to hear multiple explanations. Some of these topics only really settle in after hearing it twice or hearing it in a different way. The Welcome Week execs along with faculty advisers chose the events for welcome week, which means your peers think it's important to know. That alone should light a fire in you to want to go to all the events. The ones you dread the most are the ones you should pay the most attention to because most likely, they are the ones you'll learn the most from.
11. Take Advantage of Excursions
The excursions are a fun break to the presentations and events welcome week puts on. The purpose of these events is to get to know the Omaha area as so many of us are not from this region. It shows you little insights to the city and popular places for CU students. I went to the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo excursion and it is one of the best memories I have from my welcome week. This Zoo is huge and filled with so many different exhibits like a Desert Dome and a Swamp. These excursions are honestly so much fun that there is no way you should miss any of them.
12. Know Your Resources
Part of our job as leaders is to help you adjust to Creighton whether it be in your social life or academic life. Creighton offers so many different forms of assistance that people sometimes pass their entire four years not knowing they existed. For example, the EDGE offers academic coaching, tutoring (drop-in or one-on-one) as long with lots of other benefits, there's a Writing Center if you are struggling with a paper, and there is a Counseling Center in Harper, which is free as it's included in your tuition, that will help you with any problems you may be facing like stress or anxiety. Creighton tries to make us healthy and wise in our body, mind and soul which is why it so actively tries to find more ways to help us.
Welcome Week is by far one of the best times of the year, so let's stop reading AND LET'S BEGIN!
