Miami Dade College Hosts Welcome Week
Miami Dade College launched the 2024-25 academic year in style with Welcome Week, an initiative that ran from Aug. 26-30 to celebrate the start of the school year.
Thousands of students flocked the College’s eight campuses to partake in music, food and games.
“[Welcome Week] is essential to build a sense of community for students entering or reentering the college experience,” said Raynel Kinchen, the student life specialist at North Campus. “They need to feel that they belong, they need to feel seen and represented, and have a good time.”
Here are some of the highlights:
Campuses like Medical, West and Wolfson greeted students with breakfast. The smell of fresh coffee, juice, donuts and pastries filled the air as students connected with peers and administrators.
Padrón Campus vaulted into the new semester with a rock climbing activity and caricature drawings. Students bonded with food such as Popeyes chicken and Santo Dulce churros and ice cream while jamming to Karol G and Bad Bunny.
“Seeing people getting active and being involved in the community of my campus is really great and it makes me happy,” said Andrea Serra, a 18-year-old sophomore in the Honors College at Padrón.
North Campus held an under-the-sea themed celebration in the 4000 building breezeway accented with bubbles, sailor hats and mini donuts.
Students made friendship bracelets and applied temporary tattoos of mermaids, seahorses and fish.
“It was nice to meet people and see new faces,” said North Campus Student Government Association President Estefania Olaiz. “It was just great to bond with everybody. The spirits were really high.”
Kendall Campus dunked into the week by hosting Hoops with Stewart at the student life square, where Campus President Bryan Stewart played mini hoop basketball against student athletes.
“I have a special place in my heart for athletics,” said Stewart, who played basketball in college. “Academically, I want [athletes] to succeed, but I also love the competition part, so anything we can do to help make them more visible [and] recruit students to come to the games.”
On Aug. 28, Kendall Campus hosted the College’s first-ever women’s soccer home game. Although the game was stopped before halftime, due to lightning in the area, the Lady Sharks led Ave Maria University 2-0.
Hialeah Campus teamed up with local vendor Mango Biche Mia to host a Mango Mania in the student service lobby, which featured cups with chopped up mango and condiments like vinegar, salt, pepper and lemon.
The Student Government Association at Hialeah closed out the week with a campus soccer tournament and a screening of Inside Out 2, augmented by popcorn, hot dogs and cotton candy.
“I just want to make sure that we [attract] those students that [don’t] care about being engaged,” said Janiel Ojeda Barreras, the Hialeah Campus SGA president. “I would like to see if we could change their mind [so they] realize that it’s good to be involved and not just focus in the classroom, but also what you can do outside, and how it can make your time so much more fun.”
Staff writers Isabella Arce, Sophia Arenas and Sabrina Toro contributed to this story.
