By Michael Pedro
As this semester approached, I knew I wanted to get involved in the admitted student affairs, but I wasn’t entirely sure what to do. I heavily considered becoming a Peer Advisor or even a SOAR Orientation Group Leader, but when I saw that Golden Bear for a Day hosts were needed for the Spring 2023 semester, I knew this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
I attended an information session a few days into the semester, and there I got to learn more about the program. The program ran from the beginning of February to the end of April, and I hosted eight students through that time. Initially, my expectations for the program were that the grand majority of students, if not all, coming for the day would be from the area, but that was an incorrect assumption. Most of the time, the students you host will be looking at studying the same major as you, but since I am a Communications major, I only hosted two students who shared my major. It is a small major, after all. Most of my students in the latter half of the semester were Computer Science majors, as one of my classes was an Intro to Computer Science class. I would have hosted more students if I was offered the chance.
Overall, I absolutely loved this program and can’t wait to do it again next year. It was a blast, and it helped me open up to others a little more. When the Spring 2024 semester rolls around, check your University Posts! You might find this program advertised there. Who knows, maybe you’ll forge new connections with incoming first-year students, as I did!
