Summer orientation program at Queen’s University prepares new students for September

The transition from high school to post-secondary life can be dramatic for both the students and their families.

For the last half dozen years, Queen’s University has been working to make that transition seamless with its Summer Orientation to Academics and Resources program.

The dean of student affairs, Ann Tierney, says they try to cover all aspects of university life and familiarize the students with the campus.

“Folks from academic advising, the library learning supports, all of those kinds of things,” she said.

Even food is taken care of in the session.

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Campus executive chef Colin Johnson, who oversees the three university dining halls, says he fields a wide range of questions from parents and soon-to-be first-year students.

“We get a lot of students with allergies come to us,” he said. “There’s some that are vegan, vegetarian — plant-based proteins are really big right now.”

Johnson says all those bases are covered.

Katie Hemphill came with her family from Ottawa for the session and says she found the time management advice helpful.

“Obviously, you already have your schedule for class times, but planning out your sleep hours and your eating time as well as homework and that kind of thing (is helpful),” she said.

First-year engineering student Aidan Westdal says the workload he’ll be dealing with was eye-opening and was happy to learn about the supports available.

“You can talk to your professors and there’s teaching assistants and there’s so much backup and support,” he said.

Parents also have questions.

Neelam Shah, whose youngest daughter will be attending the university in the fall, was worried about the large street parties she saw covered in the media.

“A lot of alcohol being abused and so for me as a mother, that was one of my concerns and it seems that they have got things in check,” she said.

Queen’s University accepts about 4,500 first-year students every year. By the end of the week, about 3,000 of them will have visited the campus and gotten a jump start from the summer orientation.