August 6, 2008

Boiler Gold Rush to welcome 5,400 new students to Purdue campus

While participating first-year and transfer students will be checking in to their residence halls on Aug. 16-17, the students won't be officially welcomed until opening ceremonies at 9 p.m. Aug. 17 at Elliott Hall of Music. At 9:45 p.m. Purdue President France A. Córdova will welcome the students to campus.

While the program was originally designed for freshmen, this year's Boiler Gold Rush will be the first time transfer students have been invited to attend, said Drew Koch, director of Student Access, Transition and Success Programs, the department that coordinates Boiler Gold Rush.

"In the past, transfer students have voiced interest in Boiler Gold Rush even though a separate orientation day is held for them each year before classes start," Koch said. "Boiler Gold Rush has proved to be such an effective program - with research showing that students who participate have a retention rate that is 9 percentage points higher than their counterparts who do not attend - that this year we've also opened the program to transfer students. We expect around 125 transfer students to attend the program for the fall semester."

Transfer students who do not elect to attend Boiler Gold Rush will be able to attend the Fall Welcome, which is a half-day orientation program. It will take place from 1-4 p.m. Aug. 22 in the East/West Faculty Lounge.

Another new addition to Boiler Gold Rush this year is an event from 1-3 p.m. Aug. 21 called "Meet Your Learning Community."

"Learning Communities group together first-year students that take two or three of the same courses together or share a common academic interest and live in the same residence hall," Koch said. "This event will give Learning Community participants who attend BGR an opportunity to connect with each other and their faculty before the start of classes. It is one more way of creating intentional connections with other first-year student initiatives to form a connected experience for new students."

Boiler Gold Rush also will include the Science Teaming and Leadership Institute, which debuted during last year's session, he said. Science Teaming and Leadership Institute (also known as STALI) participants come from the Women in Science and Science Honors Learning Communities, and the institute's components link with the new teamwork emphasis in the science curriculum.

"Next year we hope to have two or three similar institutes held in conjunction with Boiler Gold Rush," said Kasi Jones, senior assistant director of Student Access, Transition and Success Programs. "They serve as a valuable mechanism for connecting Learning Communities with BGR experiences, creating connections between the academic experience and Boiler Gold Rush and fostering a cohesive first-year experience for our newest students."

Several new community service efforts will debut during this year's program, including activities that coincide with other Boiler Gold Rush programming.

On Aug. 22 first-year students will have their first chance to get involved in the Boiler Volunteer Network's Boiler Up! Community Action Day, one of several such days held each year. During the event, students and members of the Boiler Gold Rush staff will participate in service projects on campus and in the surrounding community.

Students who have signed up for Boiler Gold Rush will check into their permanent residence hall rooms during assigned times on Aug. 16-17. Students who will be living off campus for the academic year will move into their own off-campus locations and will check in for Boiler Gold Rush both days in the Purdue Memorial Union Great Hall.

From 3:30-5 p.m. on both Aug. 16 and 17, family orientation sessions will be offered in Elliott Hall of Music. They will give parents and family members a time to interact with Purdue administrators, including representatives from academic advising, the bursar's office, the Center for Career Opportunities, financial aid, the Office of the Dean of Students and University Residences.

"Welcome to Purdue" dinners will be held following family orientation sessions from 4:30-6:30 p.m. Aug. 16 and 17 at Follett's Purdue Bookstore, 1400 W. State St. The free barbecue beef and chicken dinner is optional for new students and their families and is available while supplies last.

A special Transfer Transitions Dinner will take place from 5-6:45 p.m. Aug. 17 on the Purdue Mall for transfer students.

Later that evening, keynote speaker Kevin Wanzer will address the group from 10-11 p.m. with "Aloha." Wanzer, an author and motivational speaker from Indianapolis, has spent the last two decades inspiring young people to live life to their fullest, to look within, and be a role model to themselves and live the aloha spirit, which involves loving oneself and others, overcoming obstacles and having a sense of humor.

Beginning Aug. 18 the students involved in Boiler Gold Rush will break into smaller groups and be matched with current students who are serving as part of the program staff. More than 500 students will be serving as team leaders and supervisors, Jones said.

"These student leaders have been selected and specially trained to work with these new students to help foster academic and social success," she said. "These small groups help guarantee that each Boiler Gold Rush participant will receive individual attention and someone they can talk to about any questions or concerns they have about college life at Purdue."

Some of the events planned for new students include Crossing the Tracks; Boilermaker Basics: An Up-Close Look at Purdue Athletics; general and class-specific campus tours; presentations about alcohol, safety, wellness and making good choices; UnionFest, a late-night event that includes live music, free food and activities; Late Night at the Recreational Sports Center; the University Resource Fair where students can learn about different campus offices and services; campus safety presentations by the Purdue police and fire departments; diversity presentations; tips for succeeding in classes and getting involved on campus; and a Meet the Schools picnic, where students can meet with faculty and staff from their respective schools, colleges and programs.

A variety of special speakers also will be part of Boiler Gold Rush, with topics including life changes, student wellness, alcohol awareness and campus computing.

Boiler Gold Rush is a part of the Student Access, Transition and Success office. The office also coordinates Day on Campus, Learning Communities, Winter and Summer Welcome, Purdue Opportunity Awards and is the West Central Region Support Site for the Twenty-First Century Scholars program.

For information about Boiler Gold Rush or the Student Access, Transition and Success programs office, call (765) 494-9328.

Writer: Christy Jones, (765) 494-1089, christyjones@purdue.edu

Sources:   Drew Koch, (765) 496-3618, akkoch@purdue.edu

Kasi Jones, (765) 496-3627, jones114@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

Note to Journalists: A tentative schedule for Boiler Gold Rush activities is available online at https://www.purdue.edu/sats/documents/BGR2008Tentative.pdf

To the News Service home page