The New School Year Begins

The summer is behind us and a new school year is just ahead. For those seniors in high school its time to start getting your college applications together, writing those personal statements, and avoiding senioritis. Enjoy your senior year, but remember that colleges do request mid-year reports. For those of you considering RIT I wish you the best of luck, and if you haven't visited campus yet the next open house is on September 26th, but there are also daily information sessions and tours.
For those incoming freshman, welcome! All of the events during the Week of Welcome are amazing. Yesterday the College of Engineering had their college day where they had a scavenger hunt around campus. It had two parts, they had to take pictures of their group at various locations around campus which they had to figure out with clues, and they had to find locations where they had to pick up pieces to build a cookie launcher. They then competed to see who could launch the cookie the furthest. That is one of my favorite memories from freshman year. During orientation week students are put into groups within their college that they participate in activities with during the week. That group has an orientation assistant, who is an upperclassman, leading them around. During the evenings there are WOW (week of welcome) events. These range from a hypnotist, to a comedian (who was amazing this year, I couldn't stop laughing), a dance party in the Student Alumni Union, and a trivia game show with cash prizes.
Classes start next Monday. This quarter I'm taking a full course load of 18 credits. This includes one of the toughest classes to get into at RIT, Wines of the World. It is always one of the fastest to fill up during registration. I almost can't wait for classes to start so I can meet new people and get back into the swing of things. Every new quarter brings great new experiences and great new people. Always take advantage of that.