Going to college can be terrifying and exhilarating all at once. In late August, new students arrive in droves – with bags, boxes, expectations and frazzled parents. Campus maps and freshly minted student ID’s in-hand, these bright-eyed initiates quickly find themselves surrounded by coolly intimidating upper-classmen and no-nonsense professors who won’t accept ‘getting lost’ as a valid excuse for tardiness. College can be an abrupt immersion into a completely foreign environment: new rules, new classrooms, a new school mascot and – perhaps most jarring of all – a strange new roommate.
At the University of Iowa, however, first-year and transfer students are given a warm welcome to help alleviate those new-school-blues. This introductory, week-long celebration includes campus tours, goal-setting workshops, tools to succeed in the classroom and a pep-rally themed run-down on Hawkeye traditions. It’s called On Iowa! and it culminates in a Convocation Ceremony on the Pentacrest, followed by dinner with UI President Sally Mason at the Block Party on her front lawn. Completing the On Iowa! new student orientation includes committing to the IOWA Challenge, which tasks students with embodying five Hawkeye principals: Excel, Stretch, Engage, Choose and Serve. Did we mention the free t-shirts?
“Three cheers for VolunteerLocal!” – Kate Sojka, Director of New Student Programs, Office of Retention at the University of Iowa
On Iowa! requires the helping hands of over 650 volunteers each year – and with VolunteerLocal’s customized registration form, the volunteer coordinators for this event can collect data unique to Iowa’s campus volunteer recruitment, including student organization names, student ID numbers and ‘Squad Colors.’ Branded integration into the University of Iowa’s website design makes the sign-up process seamless for student volunteers, and the Group Signup feature allows On Iowa! volunteers to bring friends along for the experience.
Happy Volunteering – and Go Hawks!
