Family Members Join New GS Students at Fall 2022 Orientation

On Monday, August 29, over 750 new Columbia School of General Studies (GS) students joined faculty, staff, and student leaders on Columbia University’s Morningside campus for New Student Convocation as part of a week’s worth of robust New Student Orientation programming.

Parents and family members of the new students were also invited to attend a half-day of orientation programming themselves. Hosted by the GS Office of Development and Alumni Relations, these events introduced guests to the Columbia community and the resources available to support their students’ transition to Columbia.

During the Convocation, students and their family members heard remarks from members of the GS and Columbia communities, including Lisa Rosen-Metsch, Dean of the Columbia School of General Studies; Marlyn Delva, Dean of Students; Dr. James Colgrove, Dean of the Postbaccalaureate Premedical program; and Arthur Bingham ‘84GS, Co-Chair of the GS Alumni Association.

After Convocation, families attended several diverse programs at Faculty House on campus. Following welcome remarks from Dean Lisa Rosen-Metsch and fellow GS parent Millicent Powers, Professor Nicole Wallack, Director of Columbia’s Undergraduate Writing Program, treated guests to a sample University Writing course. University Writing is a one-semester seminar designed to facilitate students’ entry into the intellectual life of the university by teaching them to become more capable and independent academic readers and writers. Family members were encouraged to participate in the conversation and think in-depth about writing in an effort to experience what students learn in this popular course.

After Professor Wallack’s interactive presentation, Dean of Students Marlyn Delva hosted a resource presentation featuring members of the advising team from the Dean of Students Office. Guests learned about the many resources available to students and were able to ask questions related to academic courses, registrations, and extracurricular opportunities. 

The final event in the series was an engaging Student and Alumni Panel featuring two current GS students and three GS alumni. Keith Hightower ’09GS and Karla Puga ’20GS reflected on their time as students and spoke about their favorite classes, tips for time management, and also what they found to be the most helpful resources. Damienne Harfouche ’14GS, parent to a GS student in the Dual BA program with Sciences Po, served as moderator. Evan Rork and Maria Monzon, two current GS students, spoke about their paths to Columbia, advice they would give to new students, and some of the resources they find most helpful during the school year.