It’s about that time of year again to get excited for UMBC’s Welcome Week. Welcome Week is designed to help your student get acclimated to the UMBC campus environment, and resources. Your students have the opportunity to meet new and incoming students, current student leaders, and a wide variety of campus faculty and staff. Students who take full advantage of both the mandatory and optional programs report feeling more “connected” and more “at ease” while those who do not may feel “out of the loop” as more active participants form relationships and get connected to activities on campus. One common misconceptions is that Welcome Week is only for freshman who live on campus but Welcome Week is for everyone including commuters, new first-year students, and transfers. 

Welcome Week will begins on August 27th with New Resident Move -in Day  and The Commuter Student Retreat. Welcome Week programs range from social events like Playfair (a crazy ice-breaker for 1000+ students), outdoor movie, and Big Crazy Fun Night to informative sessions like the Academic Success where students meet with faculty, staff and deans within their discipline of study and the UMBC Cultural Showcase where students can learn about the various cultural/ethnic student organizations on campus. Several other programs such as New Student Book Experience, Respect, Leave Your Mark, Public Service Announcements, and Convocation require attendance. All of these events provide a great opportunity for your students to learn what UMBC has to offer and learn more about what they hope to get involved with at UMBC.

Each new student is assigned to a Woolie group. A “Woolie” is what we call our Welcome Week Leaders, students who volunteer to help welcome new students to campus. The Woolies are an energetic bunch of upper class students who love UMBC and know a lot about how to be successful here. The Woolie groups attend events together and serve as a cohort group as everyone learns their way around campus. Woolies often serve as mentors and guides for your students as they learn how to navigate UMBC.

As a parent or family member, you are invited to help your student kick-off welcome week on Saturday, August 27. If you have any questions or want to learn more information about Welcome Week events check out our Welcome Week website.