Alumni and Staff Reach Out to Welcome New Students to UCSD

By Malinda Danziger I September 26, 2005

Freshmen Send-Off Picnics Help Students Transition to UCSD

Incoming UCSD students gather at the Will Rogers State Park in Los Angeles for the annual Freshmen Send-Off, hosted by the Alumni Association.

Alumni volunteers shared their tales of sun, surf and studies at the UCSD Alumni Association's annual Freshmen Send-Off. More than 500 students and their parents attended these family-style picnics held throughout California - or about 12 percent of the incoming Class of 2009.

The Freshmen Send-Off tradition was started in the late 1980s by the Bay Area alumni chapter and has grown today to include Sacramento, Alameda, San Mateo, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, Los Angeles, Irvine, and San Diego.

Incoming freshmen and transfer students, along with their parents, are invited to attend a picnic in their area and meet with local alumni. The event features break-out sessions and interactive games allowing students to meet other local freshmen and get introduced to the alumni network.

"It's comforting for parents to meet with alumni who have already been through the transition of leaving the family nest, attending UCSD and graduating," said Sajeet Sawhney, '05.

To sign up for next year's Freshmen Send-Off or to learn more about the Alumni Association's other volunteer opportunities, contact Jocelyn Wyndham at jwyndham@ucsd.edu or (858) 534-1125.

Alumni Roll Up Sleeves at Sixth College Move-In Day

New students and their parents were greeted by UCSD alumni and staff volunteers who offered an extra pair of hands as they began the arduous task of moving computers, microwaves, refrigerators, keyboards, clothes, surfboards and more into the Sixth College Residence Halls, formerly Camp Snoopy.

Alumni and staff volunteers take a break from Sixth College Move-In Day activities. From left to right: Seth Klonsky, '04, Fred Binczewski, '82, Tracie Davee, Alumni Association Student Program Manager, and Jeffrey Charles, '99.

"I had a great time because these were the very same dorms that I lived in when I came to UCSD as a freshman," said Warren College alumna Pamela Frugé, '87. "It felt good to be a part of this process with students and their parents.

"As a Move-In Day sponsor, the Alumni Association booth provided courtesy shopping carts to assist students with their heavy loads as well as water, snacks and a bit of encouragement for these new residents.

"It was fun meeting the families, sometimes the whole family including brothers and sisters, while helping students move-in," said Fred Binczewski, '82.

The UCSD Alumni Association represents over 100,000 alumni who are at the forefront of business, research, the arts, social innovation and political service in California, throughout the nation and increasingly across the world. The Association is a volunteer-driven organization that fosters a lifelong, mutually beneficial relationship of alumni and students with UCSD. For more information, please visit our website at www.alumni.ucsd.edu.