What does the chair of the Unofficial Welcoming Committee do?

WELCOME TO GODDARD COLLEGE
WINTER RESIDENCY!

Qualifications for this position are just that you feel there is a need for individuals to get to know each other, and especially for the new people coming in. 


You realize that although we "trust the process," it is a bit overwhelming at first, and therefore having contact students that you can go to, that can help you figure things out and make you feel "at home" is very important. 


Now for the details of what I have done- Please note: this position is highly customizable. Most of the activities will take place the first day of residency. 


WELCOMING SESSION FOR NEW G1s Thursday 3-5
This is the most important mandatory thing, or if you can't do it each time, make sure there is someone from your committee who can. That means booking a flight early enough to get to campus on time- this is not always easy with flights and weather complications. 


A welcoming session is open to the entire student body, encourage everyone to come after they have checked in, but be sure that the new students know. This is hard as the school will not give you the e-mails of any new students prior to residency.  (SEE PRE CONTACT OF NEW STUDENTS for more details)


Food
The session is simply a meet and greet.  Food is provided- This is one of the details you need to take care of. Hopefully there is someone on the committee that drives to school, or lives in the area. Sequana has taken care of this for me for quite a few residencies.  Maybe she can help find someone to take this over when she leaves.  ( I never assume someone is doing the same job from residency to residency, or that they are on the committee, I always ask each semester if they are on the committee each residency)  Jackie requests the following concerning the snacks- no alcohol, keep it under $50.00 and save receipts to give to her for reimbursement. 


Set up the lounge in a friendly manner and introduce new and returning students. (Sequanna can usually get the items but may need someone to put them out. You will also need to pick them up before going to diner. Or tuck them away and pick them up later.) 


Ask new students things like
* Did you find your room?
* Do you need any help getting to your room?
* Let them know when dinner is.
* Introduce them around and tell them that, if they like we will group all of the new people and some of the committee members together at dinner, so that they can get to know each other.
* Other questions- new students are always interested in finding out are —about the process, the program, what individuals are studying etc.  They might not know where the computer lab is, how to get coffee in the morning, is there a place to xerox, how about a laundry facility?  They might be looking at their schedule and want to know what things look really good, or what would be good for them to see with their study?  Also remind them that if things change on the schedule that these changes are either 1. Sent to them through e mail so check regularly, and 2. posted on the main bulletin board. 


I always assure them that this first semester is difficult and time consuming, but after G1 semester they do feel less stressed, they should take time for themselves, and if they feel overwhelmed they can come to a committee member or Claudia, everyone should know Claudia- she is great.  


New students do not all come in at this time, so as you are eating and that first day, keep your eyes open for anyone who looks confused, or has that deer in the headlights look in their eyes. 

Signage

I usually print out a couple of signs and bring them with me and hang them up as soon as I get to campus.  They simply say:

Welcoming session for new and returning students

in the lounge next to the help desk

3-5 Thursday. Snacks provided 

I put these signs in 4 spots: 

1. At the help desk, be sure to let the help desk know, ask them to remind new students.  

2. Taped to the wooden sign outside of the door to the help desk 

3. Taped to the door coming in near the cafeteria. 

DINNER FIRST NIGHT
I usually usher the new people into the dinning room and ask a couple of committee members if they might sit with the new people at a couple of big tables. The two tables directly behind the dessert bar are great for this.  Sometimes, when I think of it, I'll put a small sign on the table, I still encourage returning students to join us, I just don't want any new student to feel left out. Once again, I usually sit facing the front of the cafeteria so I can spot any new students that might not have been in our meet and greet. 


By the way, the new student head count is usually anywhere from 10-30. 


NEW STUDENT WELCOME 7-8
This is in the Cottage. Many new students will not realize that they have to fall into a schedule so soon. I watch for Jackie to leave and the time, and then remind everyone about the new student meeting.  Usually I walk with a group of students to the meeting.  See if a committee member can join you in this meeting.  Once again, this helps new students to put a face with a name.  You will not want to stay for the entire meeting, and you don't have to, after all, you have been in this meeting  before.  But you will want to stay and introduce yourself to the new students ( There will most likely be students who did not make it to the meet and greet, in fact, there will be new students that will not make this meeting as well. (I didn't my first residency. It would be helpful if you knew if there were any missing new students. Ask Jackie if she can point them out to you during residency.)  


Hand out- Prior to residency I have put together a hand out that has pictures of all of our committee members. The hand out also contains the following about each committee member: 
1. What "G" they are. 
2. Where their dorm is 
3. What their study is about.  
4. Most important a name and photograph.  That way, new students know where to go if they need help. Pass them out in this meeting.


Post one of these handouts on the bulletin board


I like staying and listening to the new students and what their plan of study is.  That way I can do the following- 
1. Find other students who are studying the same thing. Then I can introduce them and perhaps they can give them some good things to look into. 
2. Think of students who left who had a similar study and who might have their portfolios in the library. These make good resources for a bibliography.   So I take notes at the new meeting.


 After everyone has introduced themselves I, and my committee members excuse ourselves. 


Take a breath- the vast amount of your job as Welcoming Committee chair is over. 


Other things to do at residency


Make yourself available to the new people and keep an eye out for anyone who is having trouble, appears to be lost, or has no idea how long it takes to get to the library! 


What I have done in the past
1. Hooked up with those who seem out of place, included them in outings or invited them places, music room etc. walk to a functions together. 
2. Shared my study plan.  This is an overwhelming time for new students. Sometimes if they can see a study plan it helps. If you don't want to share yours, send them to this blog. I have my G1 Overall study plan,Semester Study plan, my G2 and my practicum study plan all posted.  Check out this blog post. 


Encourage other committee members to "be available." 




WHEN YOU GET HOME


I try to contact the G1's after they have sent their first packet in. The email usually says, glad you made it through your first packet welcome to the real Goddard work, let me know if you have any questions as you go along. I also refer them to this blog, as there are so many things in it. 
To get the email list of all of the students go to Goddard.edu- MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts Vermont group-Under Information and Notices you will find the student and faculty address list.  Just look through the list and send an email to all G1's.  You might want to save this list and contact the G1's again at the end of the semester to see if they are interested in becoming a part of the committee. 


CONTACT STUDENT BODY IN BETWEEN BREAK- search for volunteers.
1. In the break between the end of the last residency and the beginning of the first residency, I send an email to the student body asking if anyone wants to join our Unofficial Welcoming Committee and telling what it entails. To get the entire list go to your Goddard account,  (Gnet) , click on m email. log into that Google account.  and then send a general e mail to the MFA-IA body. Be careful. I once sent something by accident to the entire student body. MFAIA-VT Students I believe is the correct thing to put in the to line: Here is  a copy of my last  email. 

This is the last time the Goddard College student body will receive my plea for volunteers to be on the student unofficial welcoming committee, as I am graduating.  

I do believe another chair of the unofficial welcoming committee will be taking my place. 

The unofficial welcoming committee is looking for a handful of students from the student body that can sit on the committee.

Tasks are very simple- make yourself available to the new students.  This is something that everyone usually does at residency, however,

we make a special effort to put a name to a face, prepare a flyer that is handed out to new students and post it. We also create the first meet and greet on Thursday. 

( If you can't be at the gathering on Thursday but want to be on the committee you are welcome.)

If you are interested in being involved in the committee, please send me your name and information for the blog and flyer, along with a photograph.

You can see a blog post at this link, if you need an example, or this post.  My personal e-mail isbridgette@creativesculpture.com

We want to welcome all students to our meet and greet of the new students at 3:00-5:00  in the lobby next to the front desk on Thursday. 

We also will need someone that lives in the area and on the welcoming committee to volunteer to get our snacks for the meet and greet.  You will be reimbursed. 

I look forward to hearing from both the new and the old members of the welcoming committee. 

Thank you for letting me serve in this capacity. I have enjoyed helping others.

Bridgette Mongeon

Please note: As new students contact me I will be friending them on Facebook and suggesting them to other fellow students. 

It is a good way for new and potential students to get to know one another. 

For those G1's who are now G2's.  Please forgive me. I usually make contact with each of you during the semester, but this semester was particularly difficult. 

Though the weather appears to be nice right now, I have always found it a challenge to fly during this winter residency. My advice, if you are coming from any distance. Leave early and plan on layovers. My best to all of you in your travels. 

PRE CONTACT OF NEW STUDENTS
This is my biggest beef with this position. I wish I could personally contact all of the new students. But with the new laws, the school will not give out their information.  For me, when I was a new student, it would have helped if I got some other contact before arriving, besides a bill. Since I have arrived, I believe an effort has been made by Jackie, the program director to send a letter to each new student. The last couple of semesters Sarah Hooker has done this. I still think hearing from a student is also needed. The best they can do is put your contact information in there so that students can contact you if they want to talk.  So, I send Jackie and Sarah a letter reminding them to include me in this. 


As Chair of the committee I send something like this to both Sarah and Jackie about 4 weeks before residency.  If you are the new Chair CONTACT ME and I will give you Sarah and Jackie's emails. 


Welcome new students
I am the unofficial chair of the MFAIA-Vermont welcoming committee. If you have any questions about residency such as what to pack, what it is like, or how to get there, please feel free to contact me.
You can do so through my phone INSERT PHONE NUMBER , through email INSERT E MAIL or Facebook INSERT FACEBOOK.  For those who are interested, I have kept a blog about the entire time at Goddard and that can be found at http://www.perpetuallearner.blogspot.com

We will also be having a gathering to welcome new students on thursday from 3-5 in the lobby next to the help desk.  If you arrive early enough please feel free to come by. You can also look for us at dinner at the table behind the salad bar.

See you at residency!
Bridgette Mongeon


STUDENTS CALL
Very few students call, many say they never knew they could. Some never get an e mail letter from the school. When they call, I try to tell them about things like cab share to the campus, what to expect, about how they might write a bib before they come. Certainly they might find things they like to read or have never gotten around to reading. I have my study plans online and encourage them to think through theirs before they come, using mine as a guideline. It might help them to feel less stressed when they come. 
The rest is about--what to pack, remember to bring flip flops for the showers, towels and bedding are provided, a travel coffee cup is helpful, unless you want to use the paper from the cafeteria, etc, etc. I also remind them about this blog. There is so much in this blog, even maps of the campus, what to pack etc. 


FACEBOOK
Some new students do find me, and then, before they come I suggest my committee members friend them on facebook.  We are all excited about the up and coming residency, and talking about advisors, and such, and this is a great way for new students to feel welcome before they even arrive. I also make sure I friend every new student while I am at residency.  Please have them friend me. I'd love to keep up and be a part. 


These are all of the duties that the chair of the committee does. Really not that much work.


 If you need any flyer templates contact me, I'll send them. Thanks for keeping this up. I appreciate your efforts. 


Other resources on this blog that might help you.
WElcoming committee post for Fall 2011
Winter 2011 welcoming committee 

Calling all new students

Why is it called the "unofficial" welcoming committee? What does it entail? Can I help?

Sent this information out to G1's- Mid semester.

Let me officially welcome you.... (in an unofficial way!)

Packing list 1 week residency

Goddard College Campus and Dorms- For new students

More about the campus and the map