“It’s all about getting transfer students connected to the resources on campus and have them feel celebrated as a transfer student.”
That’s how Sierra Mills, a senior from Dunkirk majoring in English, frames SUNY Fredonia’s upcoming observance of National Transfer Student Week. Powered by the theme “Full Steam Ahead,” organizers are rolling out the red carpet to welcome transfer students to social events, professional development and other activities that begin on Sunday, Oct. 15, and conclude Friday, Oct. 20.
All faculty, staff and students are welcome to participate in various events.
Academic Advising is excited to be partnering with the Transfer Student Organization, Tau Sigma, Faculty Student Association and the Transfer Mentoring Program for the campus’ fourth annual National Transfer Student Week “to celebrate transfer students and the professionals who support them on their journeys,” said Transfer Academic Advisor Joshua Croxton.
Ms. Mills said she enjoyed serving as a new student orientation leader last summer, so she welcomed the opportunity to help organize National Transfer Student Week activities through an internship. “I thought it would be a great opportunity to help other transfer students,” she said.
“We get transfer students connected to resources on campus and have them celebrated as transfer students,” Mills explained. “We also have a poster that allows them to fill it out, showing where they came from, the school they previously attended,” she added.
A pumpkin decorating contest will launch the week at Williams Center Room S204 on Sunday, Oct. 15, from 1 to 5 p.m. Prizes will be awarded and there will also be cookie decorating. Tau Sigma and the Faculty Student Association (FSA) are the sponsors.
Transfer tabling events, offering free Fredonia swag and gifts for transfer students visiting the table, will be held at the McEwen Hall lobby on Tuesday, Oct. 17, and Friday, Oct. 20, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. The Transfer Student Organization and FSA, which is providing cookies, are sponsors.
New to National Student Transfer Week will be a focus group that Mills will facilitate, to be immediately followed by a Career Development Office interview workshop, on Tuesday, Oct. 17, in Williams Center Room G103C. The focus group from 6 to 7 p.m., will provide an opportunity for students to speak about their experience as a way to show Academic Advising how to make the transferring experience more effective in the future.
From 7 to 8 p.m., students will compete in the “Interview Faceoff” and learn interview skills in a fun and competitive atmosphere.
Bingo, an ice cream social and prizes for attendees will headline the week’s social event in Williams Center Room 103B on Thursday, Oct. 19, from 6 to 9 p.m. The sponsor is the Transfer Student Organization.
A bulletin board in Reed Library will capsulize National Student Transfer Week activities, providing a handy reference that includes a timeline of events; how to support transfer students; student group information furnished by the Transfer Student Organization and Tau Sigma; transfer resources and transfer student spotlights.
The bulletin board will be displayed Oct. 2 through Oct. 29.
Mills, who transferred to SUNY Fredonia in 2021, remembers she “definitely felt celebrated” when attending her first National Student Transfer Day. Mills also serves as a prime example of someone who took full advantage of those events to go on to immerse herself in a full college experience. Among organizations that she’s joined include The Leader, where she does copy editing, FREDGrows and Student Association, where she is the Senior Class representative and chair of Student Relations, among many others.
