Students had the opportunity to attend virtual mixers held by the Urban Experience Program and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion during Weeks of Welcome. | Gerald Sastra/The Cougar
The Urban Experience Program and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion hosted a series of mixers for Latinx, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American, first generation and Black students during Weeks of Welcome.
Held over Zoom, the mixers gave incoming and returning students alike the opportunity to discuss their goals and plans for the upcoming semester, their major and their hometowns. The events intended to welcome students of all types and help them acclimate to college.
CDI director Varselles Cummings and UEP director Raven Jones attended the first generation student mixer to provide motivation and encouragement to students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“(With the) Weeks of Welcome programming going virtual, we thought it important to include the mixers … as a way to welcome the diversity we have on campus, but also to give you an opportunity as students to develop some community amongst folks who identify similarly,” Cummings said.
Closing statements from both departments at each mixer were geared toward the specific affinity group that the event was intended for.
“The professors are there to help … and having a good connection with them will be very beneficial for your semester,” UEP graduate assistant Marquez Jones said.
UEP assistant director Kolby Robinson gave students mixer attendees advice about managing finances and having fun while in college.
“Learn, do your research on credit cards or improving credit … and how to do those things safely,” Robinson said.
“Have fun, college was literally the best four and a half years of my life. It was so fun, I stayed an extra semester so don’t be me, finish, but be me, have fun, enjoy it. This is the launchpad to the rest of your life.”
