share interactive transcript request transcript/captions live captions
download
|
MyPlaylist
LINDSAY BRAY: Hello Cornell families. We are so excited to have you join us today. So my name is Lindsey Bray. I'm the Director of Parent and Family Programs here at Cornell University. And my office is a central resource for all of our Cornell parents and families.
So we offer a variety of events, services, including our Becoming Big Red Cornell first your families conversation series. Thank you so much for joining us live or watching this recording later. If you have questions during the session, please use the Q&A function to submit those. We are unable to unmute any of our attendees to ask questions, so please submit those via that Q&A function.
We will do our best to answer all of the questions during our time. But please know that this series will continue this summer. So there are a lot of-- we know you all have a lot of questions. But we will have answers to a lot of those as we go on later this summer too.
We will be including links that we talk about in the chat feature. If you're watching this later, those will also be included in the description. So again, welcome. Today's topic for our Becoming Big Red Cornell first year families conversation is what to expect this summer, as I'm sure most of you are asking that right now. So we are going to discuss what your student can expect this summer, a little bit about what you can expect, what your student should be doing to get ready to attend Cornell, and how you can help them along the way.
Many of our upcoming sessions in our series this summer will deep dive into some of the topics we will touch on as well. So we'll have more information for you. So with us today we have Kevin Perry. He is the director of the Tatkon Center for New Students. He joined Cornell in early 2022 and has worked in higher education for 10 years, with the last of those six being in first year experience and orientation.
So while at Cornell, he has worked to revamp our new student orientation to better prepare our students. So Kevin, thank you so much for joining us today.
KEVIN PERRY: Thank you so much for having me.
LINDSAY BRAY: Fantastic. So to get us started, could you tell us a little bit about the Tatkon Center for New Students and what your office oversees.
KEVIN PERRY: Absolutely. So we are an office that supports all incoming students and our new families in really just navigating the transition to Cornell University. So what that looks like is starting as early as you pay your deposit and you start to prepare for summer communication as we're doing right now. We also lead our orientation initiative, directly working with our college partners as they also orient students to the academic nature.
And then we also continue to work with all new students, so that's both our first year students and our transfer students, throughout their first year. So that looks like offering new student programs in a multitude of different series events and also some one off large scale events.
So that includes something like our see you downtown program, which is an introduction to the local Ithaca community. So not just getting you oriented and situated on campus, but also really making sure that you feel comfortable at home in our local community and know the resources around us.
So we are in Robert Purcell, which is on North Campus. And that is intentionally situated right around where our first year students live and a good number of our transfer and sophomore students. So really great opportunity for us to be right in your backyard. And come and visit us and ask us questions.
LINDSAY BRAY: Yeah the Tatkon Center has a fantastic staff ready to help all of our new students get acclimated to Cornell this summer in their first year. So for our new students, so what should they expect in terms of communication from your office.
KEVIN PERRY: Great question. So we have started our summer series. So if you are a new student, you should have gotten our first newsletter. This is just a welcome just letting you know that we will in fact be communicating with you this summer. And that welcome really just provides a little bit of context for what to expect. It's also a nudge to check out, if you have not, your new student to do list.
So for-- and then obviously Lindsey in your office is doing the same for our families. And so that is a mimicked message. So we send to our students, and then Lindsey is sharing that information with you all as well. Our student messaging will be coming out again next week. And then from beyond there, it will repeat once more and then every other Tuesday after that.
And the structure of those newsletters are really centered around supporting students and navigating thier to do list items. So there's usually one or two informational items. Sometimes it's usually a office highlight or just an opportunity to share some additional resources. And then the sort of bulk of that message is tied to our new student to do list, which all new students have to complete those items prior to their arrival for orientation. And depending on the different items, there are various different to do list due dates.
One other piece that's really important worth noting, and Lindsey I know this is shifting a little bit from your question, so that's where our office is communicating. Additionally, we do work with our colleges. So many of the colleges, not all, but many of the colleges do do communication throughout the summer as well. It looks a little bit different for each college. But if they are doing that, they're sharing that also, I believe it's Wednesdays.
And so if you are getting information from your college, you'll get that newsletter as well. If you do have any questions about that, our office gets those newsletters as well. So we should be able to either help answer something or provide you more information to get you connected back to your college.
LINDSAY BRAY: Yes. And thank you for mentioning the parent and family newsletter. So that started yesterday for all of our families. That will go out every two weeks, will be very similar to our student newsletter and have similar information. But some of it is a little bit different for our families, not in terms of the content but just in terms of, we know the questions you all like to ask sometimes, and so getting that out to you if you receive the newsletter. I dropped it just in the Q&A, just a minute ago.
Please feel free to sign up for on our parent and guardian form, contact form. We are still putting people on the list. But we've also listed that on our website too. So all of our newsletters will be linked on there. Encourage your student though, as KEvin mentioned, the to do list, which we'll talk about a little bit more in depth in a second. That is something that can help along the process, if they will check off your information as well.
So very helpful in terms of getting you that information but trying to get it to you in several different channels as well. And we've also got all those links on our Facebook page too as well. So we mentioned to do list a little bit. Kevin, can you tell us a little bit about what that is and what students need to be doing this summer in regards to that.
KEVIN PERRY: Absolutely. So the new student to do list can be found at newstudents.cornell.edu. And then once you get to that list, it will ask you-- the list is personalized, depending on whether you are a first year student, a transfer student. And then also our professional and graduate students are using this list as well.
The list includes a number of things. It is a long list. But it's really important to sort through that. So it includes things like housing information it includes things like our pre orientation programs that are optional opportunities to connect with different communities or different identities, activities, things like that. It also includes dining and your meal plan. It includes things to review in preparation for college outreach or registration or whatever that might look like, depending on your college.
And so again, when you go into that-- when students go into that to do list, they'll be able to see their specific to do list due dates. Transfer students that did-- for most items for transfer students, the to do list date is a little bit later, just because we recognize that our transfer students are still making their decision a little bit later than our first year students are. But a lot of those to do list due dates are centered around making sure that either the information comes back to that office in a time where they're able to produce that information or to be able to produce more information.
So a great example of that would be housing, getting information. So that they could then turn around to provide more information on things like move in based on housing assignments. So they are really important dates in that. And again, please both encourage students to check to do list itself and to keep on that summer communication, so they don't miss those important deadlines.
LINDSAY BRAY: Yes. That's very important. That's where families come in very helpful for us as you help them navigate this summer and maybe make those little nudges along the way to check in on that as they're going along. As they're working through the summer and they're working through their to do list, is there anything else that they should be kind of aware of, should be thinking about this summer as they kind of prepare to come to campus before in-person new student orientation?
KEVIN PERRY: Yes. One thing that I'm also seeing this in the Q&A. So thank you to the person who asked this question. I appreciate it-- something I should also have emphasized. So this summer communication does go to the Cornell email address. So regardless of what email was used in the admissions process, this does go to Cornell email. And for anyone who is not sure if they're getting Cornell emails, what I encourage you to do-- and this really should be-- it is the priority on your to do list-- is having your students set up their net ID and/or log in to their email and make sure that they're checking that and setting that up regularly.
So I would say that's a big one. Make sure that your net ID and email is set. And I would say encouraging students to just make sure that they're regularly checking in. Our understanding is this is the big hurrah. This is the last summer before college. And so we want to be conscious of the fact that lots of things are going on, including the fact that probably many of our students still have several weeks left of high school.
So we try really hard to share information that's important but not overload with information and tasks. So I would say again, just keeping an eye out for those high priority to do list items and just making sure that they're checking that email semi-regularly and just checking in here and there.
LINDSAY BRAY: That's a great point. We should all check our email a little bit more regularly, especially our students sometimes. So you mentioned the communication from the colleges, and everything's a little bit different for each of the colleges. So depending on which one your student's in, those newsletters might be a little bit different. But that's also kind of goes into registering for classes or pre-enrollment periods and talking to an advisor.
Can you give families a little bit of an overview, high level, about what that might look like for their student. Obviously things are going to depend on each of the colleges and what they're into.
KEVIN PERRY: Sure. Certainly. So yes, I cannot emphasize it enough, it definitely depends on each college. Every college and school I'm going to say, differs in size. And so just by that nature, their approach may be a little bit different. The other big piece is, depending on what your student is studying, some of their classes may be very prescribed and some may have an opportunity to have a little bit of choice but with a little bit of traditional first year student experience.
So based on just the wide variety of that, I think my suggestion is the new students website, again, I sound like a broken record. But that's because this information is all centralized and important. So the new students to do list website, again I do want to emphasize this too. I didn't say this last time. The to do list itself does require a net ID to log in, so students can see to do list. But the website itself is open, so families could go in there and review that information.
And in that website itself, there is a course enrollment and colleges section. I encourage you to take a look through that. Each college has a student services or student advising team. That's a staff of professional staff members who are really, their role is to support students in their first year and many times beyond their first year into career development and things like that.
And those are the folks who we work with to provide the college specific orientation programs. Some of those colleges will do like an online summer course, is not the right word, but sort of modules. And those modules can be something that you click through, review that information, and that helps you for when you arrive and students are coming in and meeting with their college then.
Others will do regular communication via newsletters like we do. So that does range. But one thing I would say is, if you are feeling like you are just not getting communication or you're just super confused or your student is super confused, one please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We are happy to either centrally get information and get back to you or connect you with someone.
Or if you've been in contact or find the student services or student advising folks in the college, please don't hesitate to reach out to them as well. I know that all of us are really, truly here to support, even if we don't have new information over the summer. They can at least provide some information.
LINDSAY BRAY: Yes. And that's the thing too, if there's at any point where your student's confused or you're a little bit confused, please feel free to reach out to either my office or Kevin's office. And we are happy to help and kind of connect where needed to. And we'll make sure and put both of our emails in the chat as well along the way too. So we are here to help this summer, so that your student can be as prepared as possible to come to Cornell.
So this summer is that to do list and getting those things done. So let's talk a little bit about what it'll be like when they arrive on campus. So can you tell our families a little bit about what new student orientation is going to look like for their students.
KEVIN PERRY: Yeah. Absolutely. So it is around the corner. It is coming. And so yes, our move in will be over two days. And that's August 14 and 15th. And that's Monday, Tuesday. So all new students will move in throughout those days. That's also our family orientation program. So I'll come back to that in just a second.
But this is a really fantastic opportunity for all new students to be able to move in at the same time. It allows all of our programming for families to occur during that time. So for, actually let me stick with family programming for just a second, and then I'll continue through the week.
So as we continue on that Monday and Tuesday, one of the nice things about that move and structure is it allows us to offer programs twice. So while the schedule may look a little bit different Monday and Tuesday, the programming itself is mimicked. So anything that's offered on Monday, either the same thing or very similar thing is offered on Tuesday.
And that allows families and students to choose how you want to organize your day. So that means that there's an opportunity if you are coming in a little bit early to participate on Monday if you're moving in on Tuesday. If you are moving in on Monday and you would like to stay a little bit longer and you stay for Tuesday, that's also an opportunity.
And then certainly if there are particular things that you're looking to learn once you see our family schedule, there's also an opportunity to just poke into a few sessions here and there. Moving into Wednesday, we will start off with our orientation small groups. And so this is a fantastic opportunity for our student leaders. So we have about 100 and something orientation leaders who will serve as guides through new student orientation. And that is that Wednesday through that Sunday.
And so they'll meet with their small group at least once during orientation. And then they'll also have an opportunity to meet them again in the first couple of weeks of classes, which is fantastic. And then they will continue on Wednesday and Thursday and also into Friday with a mix of some university resources and some college resources.
So students will have some time chunked out for their college where, their college or their school, where they'll have specific program, a mix of some optional and required opportunities. And again, each of those are going to look a little bit different based on their colleges. Some of those might be like an open house and a welcome. Some of those might be welcome from their deans. Some of those might be department meetings or program meetings.
Then on Saturday, we have a wonderful opportunity to bring some resources to new students. And we're still building that out. So I won't tell too much. But it's really a nice opportunity to be able to really get some interactive opportunity to engage with different offices and create some community there.
And then on Sunday, we wrap up with new student convocation, which is just a really welcoming program where our president and our vise president of student life get an opportunity to welcome new students, close out orientation, and really transition to the first day of classes.
And then lastly, sprinkled throughout all of those, each evening, we have at least one program that our new students can participate in. And those are different evening opportunities that's designed and led by our orientation lead team, which are a group of senior leaders in the orientation team. So again really exciting that that's designed by students for students. And they are really integral in our orientation, [? student ?] program.
LINDSAY BRAY: Fantastic. Yeah. That sounds like a great-- it's a really wonderful program for our students to make sure that they are getting that academic and co-curricular information that they need to set them up for success and then as well from our families, getting to really get to know more about the university and set up for success, in addition to these sessions that we're hosting this summer as well. So that you can make sure you get what you need before your student comes to campus this summer and then more information on really what it means for your student to be at Cornell during those in-person sessions.
We really hope you can join us for those and make that part of your schedule along the way. So as well, so our families are always eager, and our students are always eager, which we love. So can you tell them a little bit about how that registration process will occur for new student orientation and for family orientation as well. They're similar but a little bit different.
KEVIN PERRY: I sure can. Yeah. So again, right around the corner, June 20 is when we will have our registration for orientation live. And that happens both for our families and for our students in the same platform. So we'll share that information both through our newsletter and again on to do list. And then again Lindsey will share that information through the newsletter as well with families.
So this is a great opportunity for families, I'll start with. So registration will bring you into sort of an all inclusive schedule. And what you'll have the opportunity to do is plug any of the things you're interested in into your schedule. So you'll go in. You'll be able to see all the different sessions. You'll be able to see different sessions offered at different times and depending on what you're interested in and also when you're here, you'll be able to select into those.
There are certainly a few that have head count. So just I would say if there is anything that you are really particularly interested in, try to make sure that you are in on that first or second day. We do try our best to make sure that there are enough opportunities to accommodate. But I will say that there are one or two sessions that tend to fill up. And also if there is anything that fills up, we are also more than happy to recommend some other opportunities, maybe some more informal opportunities to still get some of that information.
For our students, you're going to do something very similar. So when you log in, your registration. However is going to know some facts about you. So it's going to know that you are a first year student or a transfer student. It's also going to know what college or school you are in. And based on that, what it will do is it will show you these are the things that are required. It will also probably show you a couple of things that are required. But you will need to choose an option.
So for example, it's required to attend session a. But you have the option of going at 1:00, 4:00, or 1:00 and 4:00 the next day. So there's again, some opportunity there recognizing that every schedule looks a little bit different. And then similarly to the family program, there are just a wonderful number of opportunities that are optional based on things you're interested in learning more about, or identities that you hold that you want to connect with as a community, or spaces you're just looking and interested to explore.
So again as you go in, you'll be able to see those required sessions that are already checked off for you and be able to add to that with your optional sessions.
LINDSAY BRAY: Fantastic. So that is great information for our families to know. In addition to orientation itself, there are a few other opportunities for those pre-orientation. Can you talk a little bit about those options and how that might affect a student in terms of-- or if it affects a student in terms of that new student orientation period.
KEVIN PERRY: Yeah. Absolutely. So there are probably just around 10 pre-orientation programs, recognized pre-orientation programs. Our office does work to coordinate with both housing and the individuals running those pre-orientation programs.
So one, to start with the last question, there is no interference with new student orientation. New student orientation is required. So regardless of any of those pre-orientation programs, they must end before new student orientation begins. They do, however, this is an important note. Because of that, they do overlap with our family orientation.
That also means that our pre-orientation folks do move in early. That could be a day early. Actually, I believe it is-- no. It could be a day early or two days early depending on because of the Monday and the Tuesday move in. It also does depend a little bit on the program.
But what I would say is, if there was a family member who was interested in those family programs, please make sure that your student is checking that pre-orientation move in date. I think that should come in right around, probably right around the time that our registration goes live. But I'm not certain of that. And so that will be an important thing just to make sure that if you're planning on staying for family orientation, you have that factored in.
But yeah. There's no conflict with our pre-orientation program. And basically, those pre-orientation programs again, just like everything here, it ranges a little bit. So I'll say, generally, most of them have some sort of process to share your interested. I'll call it an application process, although I don't know that every single pre-orientation program is necessarily an application.
But that process allows them to review and identify how many students they can allow to participate. And once they have those numbers, they'll communicate more directly with you about how you sign up for or if they sign you up for an early move in date and what that pre-orientation program actually consists of.
The best way to explore all of those pre-orientation programs, again broken record, is that newstudents.cornell.edu site. And I believe the last tab is pre-orientation programs and has a little overview of each program, explains a little bit more in depth about what each theme is. And it also should provide some contact information or a link to explore more information on those opportunities.
LINDSAY BRAY: And that's really good to know. We had a couple of questions around pre-orientation programs, in terms of that and family orientation and attending that. And I would say, that is really up to you and your schedule. If you are if you're able to stay the whole time, you're more than welcome to. But as well, we will have spaces where that information that is provided at family orientation is also available to our family.
So if they even during-- and we'll talk a little bit about move in too-- like say even with move in, if your schedule doesn't allow you to come to all of those sessions that we are offering in person, we will have virtual options available for our families. So that we want to make sure that you get the information that you need, very similar to this, where we will have these reported sessions available for after.
We hope you will join us for family orientation, but we also understand it's a lot to balance during move in along the way. So with kind of that, before we dive in to move in a little bit, because we have a lot of questions in that-- from our families about that. Are there other ways for our students this summer to connect with your office or other students before they arrive on campus for that orientation.
KEVIN PERRY: Yes. So from our office perspective, we really aim to have our student leaders here for orientation itself. So our office is very professional staff heavy. We are happy to answer questions. But I would say if you're looking for that student connection, there's two other places that I would recommend that.
One is through the intergroup dialogue project. So there are two different programs, if you're not familiar. Again, this is something that students can sign up for on their to do list. This is also one that will be featured in our next newsletter. But this is a community at Cornell or transitions and connections program.
And it's an opportunity to be placed in a small group of new students led by other students, so led by their peers. And it's really talking about dialogue across difference. It is an opportunity. So one of them is required. One of them is an opportunity. But this is an opportunity for students to be able to create that community and start to build connection again with their incoming students, with their peers, before they even arrive here to campus.
The other opportunity is you can certainly reach out to your college. And again, this is that student services or student advising team. And many of them either have some student staff members that are working in the summer or they have student staff that they might be able to connect you with. And so if that is something that you're interested in, you can most certainly reach out and ask them if there are folks that they could put you in contact with to answer particular questions or to learn more information.
The other thing I would say is, there is going to be lots of opportunities when you arrive to be able to learn about clubs and organizations both in your college and at the university level. There are opportunities to connect with all of the students on your floor in your residence hall. There are connections in your new student small group for orientation. So please do not feel like if you don't make these connections this summer, that you are coming in behind anyone else. That's a really important thing to emphasize to our students.
So families please encourage them to do that if they're interested, but also recognize that this is their summer break. And we want them to come in ready and prepared to engage with these new students and build those connections there too. It is also really hard sometimes to do that virtually. So we're acknowledging that. And that is really one of the fantastic things about programs and opportunities like this, is we get to share some of the more detailed nuances virtually, so that we can have more time to build connection and community together.
So yes. Opportunities galore and don't feel like you're behind if you haven't done that.
LINDSAY BRAY: We all know our students like to stay on track with everything, so that's good to know for them. We want them to enjoy their summer break before they come to college. For sure. So now we're going to dive in to move in a bit. As Kevin said, family orientation and move in are on the same days. So that's August 14 and 15th will be move in for our new for all of our new students. And then family orientation sessions and events and activities for our families will be then.
There was a question in the chat about when families leave. So often we encourage the, I think, the last event for family orientation will be late afternoon on that Tuesday. So it is really up to you. Most of our families will leave out that late on Tuesday afternoon, evening or first thing Wednesday morning, depending on how that schedule works out, how many days they're saying. Maybe they need to do one last Target run along the way.
We are going-- I will say [? preface ?] before we get into a little bit about move in. We are doing an entire section on living and dining at Cornell on campus in a few weeks. That is June the 22nd. So we will dive into a little bit more of this but we're just going to do a high level overview for you all as it relates to orientation and getting ready to summer too. So promise you've got lots more information coming specifically from those housing people too.
So let's talk a little bit about what move in is like. If you could give our families a little bit of just a brief overview of what move in is like at Cornell.
KEVIN PERRY: Yeah. Absolutely. So I am going to similarly preface, as Lindsey said, this is an area where my office is involved, but we do not oversee. So I know that there'll be more information coming. And we'll do our best to answer as many questions. My goal always is to answer questions correctly and accurately. So if I don't have the answer, I don't want to answer it.
So yeah. So talking about move in, so as you can assume, it's a lot of folks. We move in just over 4,000 students in two days. It takes the entire village. So we have lots of wonderful volunteers who are doing everything from guiding cars, guiding folks to their residence hall, and also helping check in.
And then we have a external team of folks who help unload and bring things to rooms. So I would say, move in is-- it goes much quicker than you might think, I'm going to say, just because of how many people and how quickly things are moving.
And then really that's going to be a pretty streamlined organized process on North Campus. So families will check in. They'll get more direction on where exactly they're going to load and unload. They'll come to a parking lot where they're sort of, I'm going to say, parked for a little bit. And then slowly cars are loaded up into those loading areas. The assistance is at those loading areas where folks get unloaded. There are like these giant carts on wheels that folks unload into and then help bring those up and around the residence halls.
So again, a pretty quick process. And then there's an opportunity to move that car out into our parking for families. And that's an opportunity to then join family sessions or just walk around and navigate campus. But one question that I am seeing in here that I think I can answer is the question of selecting a move in date and/or if the option of both move and dates is open.
So the clearest answer that I could provide is, it does depend on housing assignments. So a student will get their housing assignment. And once that housing assignment is provided, depending on their community. So if they are, for example, in a program house that might be a little bit smaller, they may be assigned to a particular in date. Because that is the day that move in is happening with that assistance. So in order to make sure that we can provide that assistance, that move in date is assigned.
For larger communities, some of those are spread out over two days. Some of them are assigned to a particular day. So there's a little bit of an opportunity. But really where that comes from is the housing assignment itself and making sure that we can staff that assistance to make sure that, that process is smooth and quick.
LINDSAY BRAY: Yes. And because we want to get you in and out as fast as possible. There will be parking options. We will-- I promise all the logistics [? they'll ?] be there for you to make this as smooth of a process as possible. I will say, I always tell families this, as you're working through this summer, make sure that we have help for you as the move in process. We don't help move out. So just think of that when all that stuff is going in, it's got to come out at some point too.
And we'll talk a little bit more about what not to bring, what to bring as well in our later session on June 22 with our housing folks as well. So that kind of gives you a good overview. I will say too, I know I've seen a couple of questions about if they need to be moved or housing dates or questions about that. Housing does that on a limited basis.
But you can, your students can email them and make that ask and see if after the housing assignments are out, which should be out in the next few weeks, your student will get an email about that soon with more information on that date. And so that will help adjust that as well and give you and your student an opportunity to go in, pick a slot time. We try to make this as efficient and easy as possible for you all because we-- it can get hot. And it's a lot. And we know that. And so we want to make it a good experience for you all as you join us on campus as well.
Anything else, Kevin, that we might have-- anything else on move in.
KEVIN PERRY: Don't think so.
LINDSAY BRAY: OK. Yeah. And so just to clarify on, move in is August 14 and 15th. That will be assigned based on your student's residence hall. So wherever they're living, there will be some decision around that date. And then they can pick a time slot in there as well. That will be one of the options that they will have for your student.
So, oh, that's a good question. Kevin, and you may know the answer to this. Is there any difference for our transfer, our second year transfer students, in terms of move in process or anything like that?
KEVIN PERRY: Yes. I saw this question and I want to make sure that I'm understanding it correctly. So I'm going to give two answers. So if the transfer student is a new student and is a second year student, then yes, the experience is going to be very similar as far as move in. The orientation program might look a little different, including additional opportunities to connect, specifically with other new transfer students.
But if this is a transfer student in their second year, we do not offer like an orientation program for continuing students. I know that I've gotten that question a couple of times, so that may be me reading into that. But I wanted to make sure that I'm clear that orientation is for new to Cornell students.
LINDSAY BRAY: Good to know. OK. So as we get in to, I want to make sure I haven't missed anything along the way. Oh, this is a good question. So do students attend family orientation with their parents.
KEVIN PERRY: Yeah. So they most certainly can. Our family orientation, I'm going to say, is similar to this in that the content is designed first and foremost for our family members. Students can participate, particularly recognizing that if you've just moved in your student and they don't have something else, they're more than happy to join. But it does not need to be something that students participate in, largely because that information is also replicated in different ways throughout our orientation program.
One thing that I did not touch on is our Big Red welcome fest. It is a really exciting program, just a really good atmosphere as well. And it's a really great opportunity for about 20 different resources, some local to the Ithaca community. So we've got about at least five banks that usually come and table. And then we have a bunch of different offices that also come out and table.
And it's a good opportunity for families and students to be able to engage, get some brochures, learn a little bit more about different offices and resources, get some good giveaways. Where's my little-- I have a little pop ball that we were giving away at Cornell days, so things like that. So that is a really great opportunity for families and students to walk around together and learn that information.
But yes. The students can join. But again, the content is mostly aimed at our families.
LINDSAY BRAY: Great. Good to know for our family. OK. So as we kind of wind down, and we'll try and put as much information here in-- to answer your question. Oh, the question of when Big Red welcome fest is. So that's during family orientation. So that is August the 14th and 15th. So we will have that both days out on Ho Plaza in front of Willard Street Hall for you all.
So as we kind of wind down for our session today, are any other major dates or deadlines that students and families can help push for their students to really kind of think about this summer as they're kind of moving forward.
KEVIN PERRY: Yes. I'm going to apologize. The deadline is not coming to the top of my head right now. But one important one on to do list is-- and I saw some questions about this, which reminded me of how important it is as well-- submitting a student photo for their Cornell ID.
We have lots of students who either don't submit that photo or submit that photo late. And what that does is it delays their ID card and being able to get ready for them to be able to pick up and have. And that is their key to the building that they live in. So they'll have a physical key to their room, but that is their entry into the building. And so it is really important that as many as possible ID cards are finished and completed and can be picked up at their move in.
So please, please, please help us nudge your student to submit their photo for their net ID for their student ID. I would say additionally, I think beyond this summer, I would say-- well, I'm probably moving into to your wrap up. So I was going to do a shameless plug for our office.
I would say again, reinforcing for anyone who is not in the beginning or missed me at the beginning, we are not just an orientation office. So we continue to program for new students all year long. I cannot emphasize enough. This is an opportunity for any new student who maybe, and I want to normalize this and acknowledge that it is so common, but a lot of students do not find their sense of community or their friends at orientation. Many do, which is wonderful.
But some students walk away from orientation, and they still don't feel like they have that sense of community or that sense of friendship that they're looking for. And that's because there are other places, so many other places to find that. And so if your student is feeling like that at the end of orientation, I want you to think back to Tatkon center for new students encourage them to come to our new student program series. These are again opportunities for all new students to come out and engage with us.
We have student staff members who are working our front desk. And they are literally there to answer questions, to help make those connections, and also just to create community in our space. So again, that's my shameless plug that orientation is not that experience for everyone. And that's OK.
LINDSAY BRAY: I think that's a great-- I think that's a great point. We want our students to feel like they have a space on campus and feel connected. And we know that that's a little bit different for every one of our students. So we want to provide different opportunities for all of our students.
So you kind of mentioned this, which I think is great, to get into kind of our last wrap up question. But are there any other tips that you would give to students as they're kind of, whether it's this summer or their first year as they kind of embark on this journey at Cornell.
KEVIN PERRY: Yes. My main tip, and I used to say this every year at orientation when I presented, try something new. Step out of your comfort zone. My short version of this story is, it is how I am sitting in the seat right now. I did not come to college expecting to work in higher education, nevertheless expecting to work in orientation.
Because I tried something new, I found a friendship in a student organization that connected me to a staff member and professional who became a mentor, who helped me find a career path I love. And so while that is one story, it is really important and particularly important in families. I know you know this.
But for our students at Cornell who are incredibly academically focused, it is incredibly important to step out of your comfort zone and try something fun. Create space, intentional space, for a break and for community. Because all of those other pieces are going to have a huge impact on your overall experience at Cornell. And so making sure that, again, trying something new and doing that with the goal and intention of making friends and learning something, trying something new.
LINDSAY BRAY: I think that's great. Yes. Try something new. That's so important. And this is the time for students to do that. This is the time for them to make new friends, check out things, do things a little bit differently than they have in the past.
Well, Kevin, thank you so much for joining us. I'm going to peruse the Q&A real fast to make sure that we haven't missed anything else from you all. We will make sure and try to get all of our information in here as well for you. I will say one other deadline that it will go out in our newsletter, but also just so you all know, the biggest next one on the list is those health requirements. So encourage your students to go ahead and submit all of those for Cornell Health.
We will talk a little bit more about that in our next session as well. But those dates will overlap a little bit. But encourage your students to submit those now. We'll talk in our next session a little bit more about health and well-being too. But that's the next big one coming up. And I know there was a question about that as well.
So kind of as we wrap up, thank you all so much for joining us. Thank you Kevin for joining us and sharing your expertise and your suggestions and everything else. I know our families are, can get a little anxious this time of year, especially as we're kind of getting nearer. It will be here before we all know it. You all know it will come here and we do too. So we are excited to welcome your students to campus as part of that.
Families, thank you so much for joining us for this session. We have really enjoyed kicking this off with you all this summer and having this for you. Just to reiterate, this session is recorded. And so we will have this available on our Becoming Big Red website for you, which is always on our parent and family programs website. So that'll be there for you. So if you need a refresher later or anything like that, want to come back to this, we will have this available for you.
As well, we hope you can join us for our next session, which will be June the 15 at 12 PM Eastern. That will be on health and well being. And we'll cover our Cornell Health office, counseling services, disability resources for students, and our student health plans which we always get a lot of questions from our families as well.
So if you ever have any questions, concerns, or anything like that, please feel free to reach out to me. My email address is families@cornell.edu. Or you can visit our website to check out the resources that we have available for you. We have some great pages just for our new families to make sure that you're set up for success.
So that really concludes our time together. Thank you so, so much for joining us. We really appreciate it. And we look forward to seeing you at another one of our sessions or in person at an orientation as well. So thank you so much.
The Becoming Big Red: Cornell First-Year Families Conversation Series is hosted by the Cornell University Office of Parent & Family Programs. Joined by Kevin Perry, the Jack and Rilla Neafsey Director of the Tatkon Center for New Students we discussed what families can expect this summer as they help their student to prepare to attend Cornell. We will discuss important deadlines, orientation and more.
