University Programs and UA Panhellenic Association partnered to host the New Year, New Me event Aug 12. The event, which was one of several as part of Tied with Tide week for students moving onto campus early, included karaoke, board games, bingo, vision boards and speed meetings in an effort to encourage students to start the school year off with a zest of positivity.
In the ballroom of the Student Center, students walked into a room filled with balloons, vivid lights and upbeat music played by a DJ.
Gracelyn Hatchett, a junior majoring in news media, started working with University Programs because she enjoys seeing the connections people make when attending events like New Year, New Me.
Danielle Woods, a freshman majoring in theatre, said that although walking into the room was a bit intimidating, she wanted to take this opportunity to meet new people.
“I think it just betters your experience, because if you stay in this comfort zone, ‘I’m just going to stick with a few people I know,’ you’re not going to really get anywhere,” Woods said.
Hatchett said that such events help new students, especially freshmen, become used to campus and work on their communication skills.
Students were encouraged to post their hopes and goals for the new school year on a display, and they could grab a vision board to help organize their plans for the future. Bingo boards that were provided to each student upon arrival had prompts for attendees to ask questions to one another with the goal of finding students with similar backgrounds and interests.
Alysa Newton, a junior majoring in biology, said this was her first time going to an event like this one, and she wanted to attend to get outside of her comfort zone.
Drew Carroll, a freshman majoring in environmental engineering, attended the event for similar reasons as Woods and Newton and said that the point of events like this is to better yourself and your college experience.
Carroll said that although it is easy to feel like everyone already knows each other, the reality is that every person is in the same position of unfamiliarity.
“Your parents are gone, your friends are gone and you’re not used to where you are, but everyone’s like that,” he added. “So you really get out of it what you put into it.”
