August in Georgia is devastatingly hot. Although the temperatures peaked in July, for students, back-to-school week often means humidity and empty water bottles. With the sweltering heat, it may be a surprise that Agnes Scott’s student body was enthusiastic about anything, but especially the sprawling list of activities for Agnes’s introduction week, also known as Welcome Week!
Organized by the programming board, also known as ProBo, Welcome Week is intended as a lively start to the school year. It welcomes first years and returners alike, showing (or reminding) them what it means to be part of the Agnes Scott Community. Tatiyana White, the enrichment chair member of ProBo, says that Welcome Week aims to showcase Agnes’ commitment to community engagement. Not just with students and teachers, but also with the wider Decatur community, from local restaurants to community health organizations.
This year, the programming board plans on ramping up its community engagement and outreach. “We want to do a lot more, we want to help out,” Tatiyana said, and spoke about bringing in more guests and including more than just the Agnes community in events. She brought up how people walk through Agnes Scott’s campus all the time: high school and middle school students, for example. Why not get them involved, too? She says that Agnes Scott is a safe space—for everyone.
The first event on the Welcome Week roster was a block party, hosted in the Trellis Garden on Wednesday, the 20th. This occurred in tandem with the Visit Decatur Fair, an event inside the Alston Campus Center that featured organizations from the greater Decatur area, showing students who may be new to the area what the city has to offer.
As established, August in Atlanta is hot—and Wednesday was no different. However, as also established, the student body didn’t seem to mind one bit. The event featured a water slide, party games, free King of Pops popsicles, giveaways, and more. The sun was blazing, and yet Agnes students were committed to enjoying an exciting evening. The event coincided with the first day of classes, which, naturally, left the student body buzzing with energy. Everyone was in high spirits, the Trellis Garden burst with puffs of cotton candy, small bags of popcorn, and beaming smiles.
However, no first day is without trial. During the festivities, the sky suddenly—extremely suddenly—decided to treat everyone outside to a gentle rainshower that eventually became a steady pour. The aforementioned blazing sun was still there, but now with an unexpected downpour alongside it. It was quite confusing for all parties. Luckily, the sudden change in weather didn’t stop Agnes students from having a good time. Some ran inside, laughing, but others stayed outside, reveling in being splashed not just by water soakers and the giant, blown-up waterslide, but by rainwater. Joy all around. Evidently, in rain or shine, Scotties will make the most of their situation.
The block party was Welcome Week’s kickoff event, but the rest ProBo had in store was just as exciting. From a movie in the Hub to competing for groceries, the week was jam-packed with activities designed to bring joy to students, even if summer vacation is over.
In the same vein, Welcome Week strikes a balance between fun and academics. For example, alongside the pool party and silent disco, there are also events like the Annual Opening Gala, hosted by The Center for Writing and Speaking (CWS), along with the Resource Center for Math and Science (RCMS), and the Center for Digital and Visual Literacy (CDVL). All three centers are resources on campus for various academic (or personal) needs students may have, from website building to presentations to calculus.
The gala, despite its name, is actually a scavenger hunt and raffle event. Since students, both new and returning, may not be aware of the resources they have at their fingertips, the scavenger hunt took the students through each of the centers and aimed to teach them what they offer to the campus. Not only were students able to learn more about on-campus happenings, they also were able to explore parts of the campus they may have not been to before, like the depths of the library or non-classroom parts of Campbell.
The event culminated in a raffle for a number of prizes, among which were rejuvenating face masks, gift cards, and the grand prize—AirPods! They were all distributed among students by the emcees, Kennedy Amoré and Anjali David, once again showing Welcome Week’s combination of fun and learning.
Even though Welcome Week may be over, the campus community has no shortage of upcoming events. The CISAW (the campus’ makerspace) is having its open house on September 2nd, many clubs are having their first general body meeting, and—perhaps most exciting—First Friday, a monthly marketplace and activity fair, is coming up on September 5th! If Welcome Week left you craving more, look out for these events and more in the Irvine, our campus newsletter, or on the Agnes Scott event calendar.
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