Students work together for Welcome Week
Students gift bikes to children from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater High Point. Photo by highpoint.edu
Students browse various booths at the Involvement Fair. Photo by
Nicholas Bainbridge
By Nicole Prince
News Editor
Welcome Week serves not only to bring the High Point University community back together, but to also introduce the incoming class to their extraordinary home.
This year’s Welcome Week brochure states, “HPU takes pride in the holistic education it offers students, and Welcome Week is your introduction to those educational opportunities.”
These opportunities promote intellectual growth, campus connections, civic engagement, healthy living and diversity. It featured athletic events, shopping sprees, move-in day, luncheons, celebratory fireworks, opening convocation, meetings with mentors and faculty, presentations and information sessions. The first week back at HPU was packed with various activities. Here are some major highlights from Welcome Week:
First there was the Creation, Connection and Community Bike Build Event. On Monday, Aug. 19, new students engaged in an act of community service.
The freshman class was surprised with a challenging team- building experience and service project of building 150 bikes and personally gifting them to children from the Boys & Girls Club of Greater High Point.
HPU President Nido Qubein commended the students, saying, “Last night you were in this gym together signing the University Honor Code, which says you will take care of this university, be the finest person you can be, take care of humanity and reach out to help others to make a difference in this world. Today, you’ve done that.”
There was also the High Point University Involvement Fair that took place on Friday, Aug. 23. Each year, over 100 clubs and organizations set up booths in the Slane Student Center Gym to encourage new and existing students to network, engage themselves and try new things. These clubs and organizations allow students to pursue opportunities such as volunteering in the High Point community, playing sports, learning a new instrument, expressing interest in arts or entertainment, joining a fraternity or sorority, or representing an organization by taking up a leadership position.
“I did utilize the involvement fair last year to get involved in certain clubs like Young Life and to learn more information about club sports like lacrosse,” said Abby Dwiggins, an HPU sophomore double-majoring in religion and literature. “Of course it did inspire me to get more involved in campus life and the wonderful community that exists here.”
To learn more in- formation about the various clubs and organizations offered at HPU, students can visit http://www. highpoint.edu/stu- dentactivities/get- involved/.