White water rafting is just one of the activities that freshman and new transfer students can sign up for as part of Welcome Weekends at USF.
The University of San
Francisco
welcomed freshmen and new transfer students to the university this fall with
three weekends of jam-packed events, from white water rafting to movie night at
San Francisco’s Union Square.
Dubbed Welcome Weekends, events were scheduled on Fridays,
Saturdays, and one Sunday for three weeks beginning Aug. 27.
“The Koret Health and Recreation Center, with help from departments such as the Leo T. McCarthy Center for Public Service and the Common Good and Student Leadership and Engagement, offered a smorgasbord of events that include USF
recreational, social, cultural, and campus ministry activities,” said Chuck
White, director of Koret.
Events were based on surveys of incoming students’ interests,
both on campus and in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Welcome Weekends initiative
offered students opportunities to get to know each other and interact with
classmates while exploring USF, San Francisco, and the Bay Area. Research
shows that early student engagement improves retention, graduation rates, and
overall satisfaction with the university experience.
Students had the chance to roller
skate at Koret, hike in Muir Woods, clean up Ocean Beach with University
Ministry, tour Alcatraz at night, visit several San Francisco museums, or sign
up for acoustic guitar lessons, among other activities.
“Welcome Weekends were designed to engage students
and foster their participating in these and other events throughout the rest
of their time at USF,” White said.
