Winter Welcome Week

By Neema Mazonge

@neemamazonge

Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash

The holidays are done and that means it’s the start of a new semester. Every year, SMUSA holds a Winter Welcome Week for the new students; the event is filled with social events that encourage students to get out and meet one another and create new friendships and bonds that last throughout their university experience. These events help students get familiar with the Saint Mary’s community through activities such as treasure hunts throughout the campus. SMUSA also ensures that these events help students get connected to different resources offered on campus, such as the Peer Support programme, and gives them an opportunity to meet student leaders.

The Winter Welcome week events schedule which will kick off on Monday 6th 2020 with a movie night is available on the SMUSA website. The events will run up to Saturday 11th 2020. Students can easily sign up for the events on the website to confirm attendance or simply show up and enjoy the festivities. Having experienced the Welcome Week back in 2016, I found it really helpful to integrate into a new community especially as an international student; I was able to make friends from all over the world and feel more comfortable and confident moving around campus and knowing where to go for help.

SMUSA also provides Welcome Week kits with a variety of university memorabilia. This year’s kit will include a backpack, a thermocup, a cellphone wallet (an essential for university), a laptop sleeve, a portable charging block, reusable straws (safe for the environment), special Welcome Week limited edition t-shirts, a SMU baseball hat, SMUSA socks and, most importantly, free admission to all SMUSA organized Winter Welcome events. Students can purchase their kits either at the SMUSA information desk located on the first floor of the student union building or skip the line and pre-order your winter welcome kit online at the SMUSA website.