New Student Welcome at Moorpark College

I will be a first-year student at Moorpark College, starting class on Monday. Yesterday was the New Student Welcome, or what is essentially orientation.

The Morning

After dropping my brother off at school, I arrived at Moorpark College at 8:30am. Check in began at 9am, so I got my math textbook from the library in that extra time. Keeping an eye on the school email is something vital for success it seems, as I was one of the few who, because I kept an eye on what textbooks would be annouced, did not have to pay for my calculus textbook.



I went to check in and encountered a couple familiar faces from high school. Some interactions were more postive than others. Honestly, I would like to leave high school all the way behind, but I still its hand on my arm as I see all these people. I counted every face I recognized as people poured into the gym, having gone into the double digits by the end. The awkward ‘hellos’ and ‘heys’ I hope to watch fade away one day.

When I entered the gymnasium, I sat with another girl and talked with her for an hour; from 9am to 10am, until the event started. She was a film major, interestingly enough. I have met many art majors already, I am not sure why I am so drawn to creators. I am not referring to just by major, but generally; why do I enjoy talking to artists, musicians, photographers, crotchers, etc? I suppose the people who make things tend to be much more interesting than those who don’t.

The president of Moorpark College came and hyped everyone up, and provided an introduction and warm welcome to Moorpark College. While I had not seen him before, I can understand with what little time that I did why he is president. There is something about how he provided his speech that emits confidence and a type of love for education and this college.



A picture of the president, Dr. Julius Sokeno

Additionally, the ASMC (class/student council/student body) president gave a welcome, which was a nice way to start the morning. After that, we were split up and sent to our AOI Sessions.

AOI Session

The AOI(Area of Interest) Sessions were sessions that ran from 10:45am-12:00pm based on what major we have annouced. While I am a studying Data Science Major, at Moorpark College, I am technically a “Computer Science Major,” So I was sent to the “Business, Information, and Technology” Session.

The presentation itself I do not have much to document on. There was an interesting game we played about global business, where suppliers take time to get the product from port to port, which we remodeled with pencils being passed down the lecture hall, from person to person. Right now, they only have a certification in Data Science, but are working on making it a major. I hope I will be in attendance when the major is created, but for now, I will get an Associates in Science For Transfer in computer science.

Lunch

After the session, we had lunch. I had a turkey club sandwich from Urban Cafe, provided for free by Moorpark College. While the lunch room filled quickly, the fianance major I met during the session and I were able to get some seats and enjoy the food.

Clubs & Open Houses

After lunch, from 12:00pm-2:00pm, we were free to roam the clubs that set up their table and canopy tent. There were a few that caught my eye as I walked around.

• Mock Trial: While I do not plan to join, the people running it were very nice.
• Latinx Club
• Philosophy Club: The president was enthusiastic, and while she seemed a little lost on how to pitch it, she spoke with a love for the club and the most enthusiasm of everyone I encountered.
• Music?: I recognized the girl running it, as she was the IMC president two years before I was. She promoted the classes to me, and her pitch made me consider it, doing music again. I don’t need any art credits though, so unfortunately I doubt I will take any. There were many more, and I stopped at every tent that had a smile sitting across this table. While there were supposedly open houses, when I walked around, I did not see any of the ones listed on the directory.
  
  

Running Errands

I went to the financial office and sorted my financial aid, the bookstore for my bio labbook, and raider central for some food. It was a productive day on top of the fun I had meeting people and things and learning at orientation.

Final Thoughts

Thank you to everyone who contributed to this event; anyone can see how much energy and effort was put into it.