More than 1,000 Freshmen and Transfer Students Attend Brooklyn College Orientation

In the morning, they came to Brooklyn College as strangers. They departed later in the afternoon as classmates and, in some cases, as fast friends.

Some 1,200 incoming freshmen and transfer students arrived on campus on Thursday, August 25, for the fall orientation program.

"The program started promptly at nine o’clock on the Quad in front of the library with about 400 freshmen," says Heshla Ash, director of programming orientation and leadership development in the Office of Student Affairs. "By 10 o’clock, when they all moved on to Boylan Hall, there were approximately 600 freshmen in all."

Ash adds that besides the freshmen, another 600 transfer students were on hand for the program. Registration figures show that a total of 763 freshmen and 1,752 transfer students enrolled for the fall semester.

The orientation program began with words of welcome from various college officials, including Karen Gould, who made her inaugural appearance as president of the college. After an hour the students moved on to the Boylan Hall cafeteria for a mixer. "This was the first year we gave them breakfast," notes Ash, who has overseen the orientation program for 10 years. "This year we had them inside less and outside more, moving around to different buildings, so that people feel more students are showing up."

After the welcoming speeches, the new students formed into smaller groups and participated in workshops and discussions in different buildings around campus. They ended up by returning to the Quad, where they engaged in a double Dutch contest, a tug-of-war competition and other activities.

One of the incoming freshmen, Kabeem Thomas of Flatbush, who graduated Clayton High School, in New Jersey,  number seven in his class, said that Brooklyn College was recommended to him by a friend of his mother who attended school here as an undergraduate and went on to NYU School of Medicine. Kabeem wants to become a cardiothoracic surgeon because he grew up with a heart murmur and is interested in helping others with similar conditions. "All I want to do is do my best and change some lives," he notes.

Twins Christine and Christin Scali, Danny Petrosina and Michael Perille were all classmates from St. Edmund’s High School, but they said they did not know they would be attending Brooklyn College together until they met at the front gate that morning. They all agreed that they really liked the campus.

Maricelys Baez, from East New York, came to orientation with her one-year-old son in his stroller. Maricelys says she wants to study film production. "I heard Brooklyn College was one of the best film schools for undergraduates," she says, adding that "it was nearby, so my mom can take care of my son while I get my degree."

Taoea Aduashvili, who arrived in the United States from the Republic of Georgia seven years ago, graduated from Lincoln High School and wants to study business.

Armenian native Christine Karapetyan, who now lives in Brooklyn, transferred from Mercer County Community College, in New Jersey. She intends to major in business administration and minor in law. Christine says she had applied to several local colleges but chose Brooklyn College because she liked the campus and the people.

"I felt from the first time I set foot on the campus that the staff here is very professional but also very, very friendly at the same time."