Honors Program Introduces 86 New Members to Campus and Downtown Pittsburgh Monday, September 23, 2019
Point Park University's Honors Program welcomed 86 new members during its annual Welcome to Honors orientation Aug. 19-24.
This is an opportunity for freshmen and transfer students joining the program to arrive on campus before classes and begin to learn about the program requirements, explore campus and Downtown Pittsburgh. Twenty returning honors students volunteered as mentors to the new students as they began their college experience.
Highlights of the week included:
- Welcome to Honors dinner and program overview
- Bringing in donations for Sojourner House, a local nonprofit. Susan Orr, interim director and Point Park alumna, accepted the donations and gave students an overview of the organization.
- Downtown Pittsburgh scavenger hunt
- A presentation by Louise Sturgess, executive director, Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation, highlighting 10 Pittsburgh neighborhoods students and mentors explored in the annual City as Text project, using public transportation to reach their destinations. Students visited Randyland, Arsenal Bowl, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, The Andy Warhol Museum and a ride on the Incline among other stops during the trips. They then presented to each other to share what they learned.
- Trivia contest
- Volunteer project with the Pittsburgh Downtown Partnership (PDP)
“Not being from Pittsburgh and exploring with my City as Text group provided me so many new experiences," said Chloe Hoover, a broadcast production and media management major from Somerset Area Senior High School in Somerset, Pa. "Seeing all of the small shops and learning about the towns was fun! Having mentors as our tour guides made it much more enjoyable!”
Nicole Pampena, a journalism major and honors mentor from North Hills High School in Pittsburgh, Pa., emphasized the importance of the programs' volunteer projects.
“This was my fourth year volunteering with the PDP, and I really enjoyed it. It's so important for the freshmen to see that they’re doing something good for the city," Pampena said. "My group of students recognized that littering is a serious problem, and it was heartwarming to see them want to do more to make it a clean place for all.”
"Welcome Week was really cool," said Kenneth Foran a broadcast production and media management major from Slippery Rock Area High School in Slippery Rock, Pa., "I feel more confident when it comes to exploring the city and love that Pittsburgh is my new backyard."
Reporting by Colin Parrish, Honors Program graduate assistant and M.A./M.B.A. student