BY LAURYN BECKER
Keeping in tradition with freshmen moving in and the start of school around the corner comes the ever-anticipated Welcome Weekend and Pack the Fort.
Pack the Fort is an event built for Living Learning Community students to get to know their community more, as well as participate in activities to help them get a jumpstart on the year.
A big part of Welcome Weekend and Pack the Fort is the Tiger Team; a team consisting of upperclassmen on campus who plan events for the campus, and primarily are a help to the freshmen.
Pack the Fort started on Tuesday, August 17 following move-in at Victor E. Village, the housing for Living Learning Communities, with a Farewell Toast for students’ families and friends, as well as with a variety of events such as t-shirt dyeing,
Events started up again on Wednesday morning with Living Learning Communities having a morning send-off where they participated in various activities with their community as well as going on a walk to learn more about campus.
Thursday, Pack the Fort wound down with Community meetings where students met with their Faculty Coordinator and learned more about events for their Learning Community, established goals for the year, and got to know each other better.
Picking back up on Thursday was the beginning of Welcome Weekend, a four-day event packed with events for all students to enjoy. Thursday night students enjoyed a show from comedian-magician Nick Diffatte as well as a kick-off celebration.
Friday, students were able to participate in a range of events all day, such as Tiger Breakfast, Tiger Gold on Friday, and Class Crawl to name a few.
“I like how they (Tiger Team) keep us busy all week, it really helps with not getting lost or being nervous,” freshman Drayton Pletcher said, “I really liked the magician on Thursday night, that was really cool.”
Saturday, Tigers were able to be involved in a Downtown Scavenger Hunt, Water and Yard Games, and a movie later that night.
Wrapping up Welcome Weekend, students attended a speech by keynote speaker Tre’ Giles, as well as Student Body President Mark Faber and FHSU President Tisa Mason who all spoke about how important it is to get involved on campus, and overcoming hardships to become successful. The night finished off with a Candlelight Ceremony as the school year got ready to begin on Monday.
“Expose yourself to different types of people and get to know their stories,” Giles, a 2015 FHSU graduate, said to the freshman class.
Giles closed out the night by encouraging students to find an organization to get involved in and to push themselves to achieve their goals as they begin a new chapter of their lives.
Quinn Munk, a member of the Tiger Team who shared her journey at Fort Hays with the freshmen on Sunday evening as well as sharing about overcoming obstacles throughout her time as an undergraduate student, said how important this weekend is for students and campus alike.
“This is my fifth year helping with Tiger Team and Freshmen Orientation. Welcome Weekend is one of my favorite times of the year because I get the wonderful opportunity to help show the freshmen how exciting it is to be a part of the Tiger Family here at Fort Hays,” Munk said. “Most of the preparations are done by the Student Engagement staff who work incredibly hard to plan the entire weekend to run smoothly.
“However, being on the Tiger Team and participating in Welcome Weekend gives me the role of welcoming everyone with a big smile on my face and setting students up for success as they are about to start their college journey at Fort Hays State.”
For more coverage on FHSU events coming up, stay tuned to TMN.