By Rachel Cooper (’89)

Welcome to Acadia! Three simple words, but they describe a campus-wide commitment to make every new arrival feel welcomed, safe, and at home.

The welcome starts even before a student arrives, says Evita Basilio, a third-year student from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “At first I was hesitant about joining Acadia, because I was coming from a big city, halfway across the world,” she says. “But the staff constantly kept in touch with me by e-mail: not only Student Services, but also Residence Life and my department, which is Nutrition. Everyone was making sure my arrival would be good and that I was ready.”

Welcome Week is a collaboration between Student Services and the Acadia Students’ Union. Bryce Tully (’10), organizing Welcome Week on behalf of Student Services, points to the diversity of events they offer and says that events are designed to be safe, inclusive and to help students feel they’re part of a community. “We try to have events for everybody, and if we haven’t, we’re more than willing to help you set up your own,” he adds.

Move-In Day is the focus for welcoming students and parents to Acadia, Tully says. One important event is Matriculation, where first-year students, in traditional undergraduate robes, are piped in to University Hall as part of a ceremony that formally acknowledges the start of their Acadia journey.

For students in residence, Resident Assistants are well trained to welcome and support them. Basilio, now a Resident Assistant herself, recalls her introduction to residence life. “As soon as I arrived at Acadia, even though the RAs were all in training, it was so wonderful because they were all waiting at the door. They greeted me and helped me settle in. My RA checked on me every single night, making sure that I had a good day.”

“First and foremost,” says James Sanford (’87), Executive Director of Student Services, “our role is to ensure that every student that arrives here feels comfortable, feels safe and feels welcomed.” If a student has a specific requirement, Student Services is there to help.

“Our Welcome Week program is very much a partnership with our students, especially through the student leaders with our Students’ Union,” Sanford says. “Students want to meet new people, they want to feel comfortable in their community environment, and the best way for us to do that is to engage student leaders who are already living in those environments.”

The whole campus contributes to making students feel at home. “The community is kind and helpful, and I think they really protect their students,” Basilio says. “They really take care of us.”

For more, please see the fall edition of the Bulletin, arriving November 2014.