Molly O’Keefe
Winonan

Members of Welcome Crew are a key part of every freshman’s first memories, a Residence Life official said last week. Now, Winona State University is seeking students to be apart of the memory making.

Sarah Olcott, the residential college program coordinator   at Winona State, invited all students, faculty and staff to join the 2013 Welcome Crew.

“The Welcome Crew is a group of upperclassmen students that welcome first-year students to campus. They are the first faces that our first-year residents hall students see, the first connection they make to Winona State,” Olcott said.

Students involved in Welcome Crew move in early and participate in a brief get-to-know-you informational session. The hall directors then hand out jobs for the Welcome Crew.

The Welcome Crew helps with many of the move-in day tasks. They help carry in the belongings of first year students; other responsibilities include directing traffic, making and hanging up signs and answering any questions the new students and their families might have.

Olcott said, “The Welcome Crew is so important for making families feel welcome, and they are a great help.”

Nicole Nicpon, a student who has participated in Welcome Crew, said, “The best part of being a member of the Welcome Crew was seeing all of the new students and their families. I helped load people’s items from the car to their rooms, and I also tried to make them feel comfortable.”

“It’s a great asset to the first year students,”  Olcott said. Welcome Crew’s main responsibility is move-in day from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. A break and lunch are provided. Student participants are also given a free t-shirt.

Nicpon strongly encourages students to join.

“It was so fun to just help people out, make them and their families who are very nervous feel comfortable,” Nicpon said.
Students can sign up individually, or if there is a group of students from a particular club or organization, they can sign up to work together in the same building.

There will be two informational meetings for Welcome Crew. The first on Wednesday, April 17 at 8 p.m. in room 215 in Tau Center; the second on Thursday, April 18 at 8 p.m. in Kryszko Commons Dining Room C.

“We are trying to get most of our sign-ups done by May 8, before students leave campus. It’s an excellent experience to be a welcoming Warrior and you get a free shirt.” Olcott said.

Registration for Welcome Crew is open to students, faculty and staff. More information as well as instructions for registration can be found on http://www.winona.edu/housing/currentstudents.asp.

Contact Molly at
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