As the Fall 2023 semester quickly approached, orientation Link Leaders for transfer students worked hard to get their new group of students acclimated to the Colgate University community. The incoming transfer student class includes 28 students from various universities around the world. Moving to a new university can be a challenge, so the Link Staff devoted themselves to creating a program that would be informative, fun and welcoming for all the new students to ease their transition.
Link Staff member and junior Cammy Foster, who transferred from Connecticut College as a sophomore, recalls her experience finding her place in the Colgate community.
“Transferring to Colgate was a difficult transition. I think transferring to any school can be hard, but Colgate is such a small and tightly knit community that it took me a couple of months to fully acclimate myself here.” Foster said. Once I started joining clubs and putting myself out there, my experience really improved. Even during the more challenging moments, I knew that transferring to Colgate had been the right decision.”
Due to her experience transitioning into the Colgate community, Foster knew she wanted to become a Link to share her experience with incoming transfer students. Foster, alongside her fellow Links — senior Phoebe Kurth and junior Liam Schofield — helped their Linksters jump right into Colgate life by introducing them to resources and clubs around campus and creating fun activities to create bonds among the new transfer students.
Kurth recalled her favorite activity that she did with their Link group.
“I really enjoyed the ‘In Dialogue’ activity. In partners, there is a speaker and a listener. The speaker answers the prompt while the listener can not respond. They then switch,” Kurth said. “The questions were meaningful and allowed me to learn about the other person beyond the basic questions. The activity reminded me that everyone has a story to who they are and how they got to where they are today.”
The Link Staff members agreed that this activity helped the group bond and created a level of comfort between participants that was not present before the exercise. The “In Dialogue” activity reminded Schofield — who hails from Newton, Mass. — of why he chose to transfer to Colgate in the first place.
“I wanted to come to Colgate University because of the strong community. Everyone — including fellow students, professors, and alumni — wants to listen to your opinions and help you succeed in the long term. I am excited to be in a community where everyone is valued and supported,” Schofield said.
For making the first few weeks of school so enjoyable, Foster, Kurth and Schofield wished to share their appreciation for the members of their group.
“As their Link, I hope that I was able to help ease their transition into Colgate and make them feel like they belong here,” Foster said. “All of them are such great people and I couldn’t have asked for a better Link group or better co-Links. I really hope that if any of them have any questions or concerns, they will feel comfortable reaching out to me or my co-Links, even as the year goes on.”
“I want to give a shout out to Liam and Cammy,” Kurth added. “It was all of our first times being Links, but I think we tackled the challenge from the moment we stepped on campus. I am so glad I got to know them this Fall and I am excited to see them around campus.”
“I appreciate all of the dedication and enthusiasm both my group and my co-Links had during orientation this year. I can’t wait to see you all throughout the semester, and I have no doubt that you all are going to do great things with your time at Colgate,” Schofield said.
Congratulations to the transfer students for completing orientation and starting their new journey at Colgate University!
