Welcome Week rings in the Fall semester, reminds students they're always Trojans

Students cuddle puppies during last year's Welcome Week.

University Relations photo

Welcome Week, the name given to the collection of eight days full of events aimed at welcoming students to Troy University, has officially kicked off.

For many incoming students, the events stand as their first opportunity to meet new people, get involved on campus and begin their college experience.

“At the heart of Welcome Week is creating a sense of belonging,” said Associate Dean of Student Services Dr. Korrie Lynn Williamson. “We want students to find their people, try something new, get involved and feel like they have a place at Troy.”

Popular upcoming events include Apollo Night, Silent Disco and Bingo Night.

Every year, Welcome Week brings in the new semester under a unified theme, with previous themes surrounding childhood shows like “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” and “Zoey 101”

This year, the Welcome Week Committee changed up the theme, bringing in the university’s All Ways Real marketing introduced last Fall semester.

This year’s theme, “Always Troy,” aims to build upon the community that Welcome Week looks to foster while tying in ideas of time, tradition and memories. The symbol chosen to represent these ideas is the Smith Hall clock.

“[The Smith Hall clock] always shows you no matter what you’re always a Trojan,” said SGA Vice President of Campus Affairs Jamarion Willie-Hughes, a junior electrical and electronics engineering major from Huntsville, Alabama. “Everything we do is based on time – wherever you go past, present or future, you’ll always be a Trojan.”

While the theme itself doesn’t have much bearing on the actual events, some students were still confused by the new “Always Troy” direction.

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Willie-Hughes said the departure from the childhood show themes came from a lack of higher-up approval due to worries of copyright infringement and a greater desire to make a connection to new students using the All Ways Real branding.

“We spent a lot of time with it, and we figured the [branding] would be the best way to connect with them,” Willie-Hughes said. “We think it’s best to stay within our marketing brand because that’s who we are, like I said we’re always real.”

Welcome Week is set to continue until Saturday, Aug.15, when the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) will close out the week of events with a field day on the intramural field.

“We hope students take advantage of the many opportunities throughout the week and make memories that will last well beyond their first week on campus,” Williamson said.

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