Thousands of Kingston area students return to school: ‘I’m actually really excited’

New classes, new teachers and making new friends. Tuesday was the first day back to school for thousands of students in the Kingston region.

From kindergarten to university and college, everyone is getting settled into their new school year. For post-secondary students, this is orientation week.

The president and CEO of St. Lawrence College, Glenn Vollebregt, says Tuesday was all about welcoming students — making them feel at home and making them feel like part of the family.

“We have an incredible team here at the college and we’re here to support and inspire you as you work towards achieving your goal,” Vollebregt said.

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Around 2,400 first-year students have registered at St. Lawrence in Kingston, though school officials say they won’t have exact numbers for a week or so.

One of those students is Tina Fraser.

For her, it’s been a case of been there, done that at St. Lawrence, she says. She’ll be updating her skills by taking the interactive marketing communications course.

“I’ve already built a business, a social enterprise, so coming back is going to put me into the younger generation of the media of connecting with people through that, because I’m a little bit old school,” Fraser said.

“So I’m actually really excited, looking forward to it.”

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Vollebregt told a packed gymnasium of first-year students about how the school is inclusive and that everyone belongs. St. Lawrence College also has campuses in Brockville as well as Cornwall.