By Kiara Catanzaro
News Editor
St. Bonaventure welcomed 20 new students during New Student Orientation, including both transfer students and freshman students for the spring semester on Sunday, Jan. 12.
Chris Brown, director of first year experience and orientation, said the new students were a diverse group geographically and academically.
“There were students from the local community and students from as far away as California,” Brown said. “Among the transfer students, some came from community colleges and some came from other four-year universities. The new students also represent a wide variety of majors.”
A new component of the New Student Orientation is the student panel, where transfers can talk to current students about the campus community.
“We hosted a student panel where four student leaders discussed the clubs and organizations they were involved in and explained how to join campus organizations,” Brown said. “We wanted to make sure the new students who started in the spring were aware of all the things they can do when classes are over.”
Brown said the students on the panel offered good advice for the new students as they navigate the campus community.
“I thought the students on the panel did a great job explaining their journeys on campus and talking about how the new students can hit the ground running as they start classes this week,” Brown said.
Tate Slaven, a senior journalism and mass communication major, was a transfer student last year from Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa. Slaven explained the unique transition she had with St. Bonaventure’s orientation.
“St. Bonaventure was a different experience because when I started at Westminster my freshman year, they had orientation with transfers students as well,” Slaven said. “Coming in as a junior at St. Bonaventure was unique because they treated us like adults and gave us the opportunity to do what we wanted as transfers.”
Slaven, despite having more freedom as a junior, said she would have liked a more structured transition coming in to St. Bonaventure University.
“The university let us figure out a lot of aspects of St. Bonaventure ourselves,” Slaven said. “It would have been nice to have more guidance when we first transferred.”
However, one aspect of St. Bonaventure Slaven appreciated was how welcoming the campus community acted when she transferred last year.
“Everyone on campus was accepting and nice, so it was easy to make friends with other students,” Slaven said. ” I adjusted quickly and had friends that transferred with me, but I also made friends with people who have been here all four years.”
Slaven also offered advice to the transfer students that arrived for the spring semester.
“Don’t be afraid to dive in and involve yourself, or ask questions to other students or professors,” Slaven said. “Just because you didn’t start school at St. Bonaventure, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for you to have your own opportunities.”
