In-person orientation for incoming first-year and transfer students will be held throughout 10 days in August where students will meet their orientation leaders and other new students.

Students were notified by email on Thursday, July 23, that in-person orientation will be held on August 10-21. Another virtual orientation will be held on Monday, August 17, for students who cannot attend the in-person sessions.

“The day will run from 8am – 5pm and you will interact with Orientation Leaders and other new students, learn more about Quinnipiac and the resources that are available to you, and meet faculty from your school/college throughout the day,” Director of Campus Life for Student Centers and Student Involvement, Erin Provistalis, stated in the email.

Information usually given at orientation is available in the pre-orientation webinars. The orientation staff condensed the rest of the presentations to fit all in one day.

“The presentations we have planned are Inclusive Excellence at Quinnipiac, Academic Support Services, College/School Meetings, and Life on Campus,” Family Intern for the New Student Orientation Program, Lindsey Downey said.

Students will also be able to drop belongings off in their fall housing assignment along with one other family member, who is encouraged to attend the family orientation from 9-2:30 pm the same day.

Grace Carangelo, an incoming first-year student majoring in health science studies, is looking forward to attending orientation since she was not able to make the pre-orientation meetings over Zoom.

“I actually never attended the pre-orientation meetings, I worked as a full-time nanny and never found the opportunity to join,” said Carangelo.

Orientation gives first-year students a chance to meet other new students so they are not walking into a brand new environment with no familiar faces.

“As a freshman, I want to meet people and feel comfortable with the new environment I have to adapt to,” Carangelo said. “Meeting new people face to face, helps with that process. It’s unfortunate that COVID-19 had to take over and caused the orientation to be more distant, but I think it’s worth it to make new friends and have an easier first month.”

A big concern for the in-person orientation is the health risk of out-of-state travelers. There are currently 31 states who meet the criteria of Governor Ned Lamont’s Executive Order No. 7III. Anyone traveling to Connecticut from those states must self-quarantine for 14 days. Quinnipiac will not be permitting any incoming first-year students from those states to register for orientation.

The students who are able to attend must follow Connecticut’s social distancing guidelines and each orientation session will be eliminating the number of students in a group.

“We have made several changes to the schedule both to fit everything into one day and to follow social distancing rules. For example, we will have half the groups attend one presentation while the other half goes to lunch, and afterward, they will switch so the group that just ate will see the same presentation while others go to the dining hall and other rooms to eat,” Downey said.

Orientation Leaders will be getting tested for COVID-19 before returning to campus for training. Everyone attending the sessions is also required to wear face masks the entire time.

“Overall, we wanted to have an on-campus program because it was important for us to give the incoming students a chance to have an Orientation experience, even if it looked different than previous years. For many of these students, it will be their first time actually visiting the campus, so that’s a big part of it too,” Downey said.

First-year students can sign up for the in-person and virtual sessions here. The registration form must be submitted by Tuesday, July 28 at midnight.

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