Learning to be a Hawkeye

On Iowa celebrates its fifth year at the UI.

For On Iowa, five is a lucky number.

Anticipating what could become one of the largest freshman classes in campus history, officials added five new activities to the program to continue to help freshmen adjust to life on campus.

“We have a lot of new events this year, like [an outdoor street fest called] Madness on Madison, and we started [giving students] three days to move in instead of two days, which I think is beneficial to the Iowa campus,” said Sydney Wieczorek, a UI junior and On Iowa leader.

The UI estimates that the Class of 2019 will comprise approximately 5,000 students.

The official number of students will not be available until 10 days after the first day of classes, UI spokesman Tom Moore said.

Those who help facilitated the program included upwards of 500 UI employees who serve as volunteers and approximately 220 upperclassmen who served as leaders.

Wieczorek said that when she was a freshman, she found the program helpful because it gave her the resources necessary to succeed at the UI.

Though the program includes helpful tips for how to be successful, Kathryn Sojka, the University College director of academic support and new student programs, said one of the primary goals is to help new students start to feel a sense of belonging on campus.

“It is wonderful to see the campus community come together to welcome the Class of 2019 and transfer students into our Hawkeye community,” Sojka said.

The Daily Iowan was unable to obtain a cost figure for On Iowa by Sunday evening.

The new activities — which included Madness on Madison, an icebreaker poetry slam, a lecture for success in General Chemistry I, a meet-and-greet with student leadership, and a book drive — helped boost student involvement.

While certain events such as Madness on Madison had more than 1,500 students in attendance, other events appealed to students’ specific interests.

More than 65 students attended the chemistry lecture, given by UI Lecturer Russell Larsen.

One of those students was UI freshman Veronika Sostaric, who had conflicting opinions about some of the events On Iowa had to offer.

“The studying tips lecture from a chemistry professor was really cool and helpful,” she said.

While Sostaric said she enjoyed the lecture, she felt the small groups — which encourage students to get to know each other — were “a waste of time.”

UI senior Rachel Ahern, an On Iowa captain, said that when she was a freshman, she found the program to be helpful with building friendships.

“I have personally seen this program benefit first-year and transfer students because of talking to them and learning of their growth and changes,” she said.

UI freshman Corrine Jones appreciated long-standing On Iowa events such as the small groups.

“The small group was nice because it helped me meet some other people, and I learned a lot about the university and programs here,” she said.

Jones said she believes she also learned a lot about the different student organizations on campus.

“I definitely think they helped me adjust to campus and being a freshman at Iowa,” she said.