Two female university students smile for the camera

O-Week 2017: UTM welcomes new undergraduate students

Blake Eligh

This year’s O-Week orientation calendar features a three-day schedule jam-packed with tours, information sessions and special events designed to help UTM’s new students make the most of campus life.

“O-Week is all about welcoming new students to campus, helping them become familiar with the environment and learn all the things they’ll need to know to be a successful student,” says Jessica Silver, manager with the Office of Student Transition. “UTM has a lot to offer, including academic and social support, fun opportunities to get involved and more.”

O-Week kicks off on Monday, Aug. 28 with a Welcome & Invocation Ceremony in the RAWC. Mississauga Poet Laureate and UTM student Wali ‘Flo’ Shah and UTMSU president Salma Fakhry are among the speakers who will deliver welcome reamarks to the incoming student body. This year, the event also includes a new feature—a special pinning” ceremony led by Dean of Student Affairs Mark Overton, that will highlight the core identities of UTM student life—community, creativity, communication, innovation and sustainability—with a small gift for participants.

“UTM Real Talk” and “Taste of UTM” events take place on Tuesday, Aug. 29. More than 25 different campus partners will be on hand to highlight services and opportunities related to academic success, getting involved, and health and wellness. Featured events include: a nature trail walk around the campus; a “UTM Mythbusters” session hosted by upper-year students; time management tips from the Robert Gillespie Academic Skills Centre; an information session about travel-study opportunities with UTM Abroad; “What Your Professors Wish You Knew”; and the launch of the latest round of UTM’s home-grown mobile quest game, Guardians of UTM.

The final day of O-Week begins with The First Lecture: UTM Talks. Open to the entire UTM community, the TED Talks-style presentations will feature UTM faculty and alumni, including Vice-President and Principal Ulrich Krull, chemistry professor Patrick Gunning, UTM Principal and V-P, postdoctoral fellow and visual studies instructor Cheryl Thompson, and human rights activist and UTM alumna Samra Zafar.

The week wraps up with a Credit River Shoreline Clean-Up, exercise classes hosted by Health and Wellness peer ambassadors from UTM’s Recreation, Athletics & Wellness Centre, and a bubble parade from the CCT Courtyard to Lislehurst on Tues., August 29 at 5:00 p.m.

Student Housing & Residence Life and UTMSU will offer additional orientation programs. Silver says there’s something for every interest. “There are so many opportunities for students to engage in orientation programs at UTM,” she says. “This is a place where students will develop and grow, academically, personally and professionally.”

See the O-Week schedule >