(DePaul University/Randall Spriggs)
As you probably know, summer is when we welcome over 4,000 new students to DePaul through new student orientation. Freshmen participate in Premiere DePaul and transfer and adult students in Transition DePaul. Even though orientation programs have moved online, we are still welcoming many new Blue Demons into the community, and your help in doing this is more important than ever.
The online orientations consist of an asynchronous pre-orientation module, a synchronous virtual orientation session and a synchronous academic advising appointment. The first virtual, synchronous Premiere and Transition DePaul sessions for students entering in the fall will take place on June 23 and June 24, respectively. Sessions will continue throughout the summer, until the start of the Fall Quarter.
The programs are important contributors to students' academic and social integration, and ultimately, their success in college. It is also an important time for DePaul, as we have the opportunity to make a critical first impression on our incoming freshmen and transfer students.
You won't be bumping into new students and families on campus this summer, but you may receive more phone calls and emails from students and families. If you have social media accounts, you may get more questions and requests via comments or direct messages. How you respond to them, and how quickly you respond, has the ability to powerfully inform their first impressions of DePaul as a welcoming and engaging community. Your response also can affirm their decision to attend DePaul.
Even under these unusual circumstances, we are still DePaul: we respect the human dignity of all with special care for the marginalized, we engage in and with the DePaul and Chicago communities, and we 'Take Care DePaul.' I hope you'll take some time to consider how you might exemplify these tenets as you interact with new students and families this summer.
As always, if you are unsure of how to help a new student or family member, or if you have any questions about Premiere or Transition DePaul orientation programs, please visit http://orientation.depaul.edu, or contact the Office of New Student and Family Engagement at orientation@depaul.edu, and a staff member will be happy to assist you.
Thank you for everything you do for DePaul and its students!