High energy on campus with the largest enrollment since COVID
Welcome Week kicked off on Monday, September 23, the first day of the fall term and the 2024-25 academic year. Parking lots were crowded as thousands of students returned to classrooms and labs across the main campus, at the Clark College building at Washington State University Vancouver, and Clark College Columbia Tech Center.
Warm, dry weather invited students to gather outside to sit on benches and the grass or walk the paths around campus. A brand-new reader board displayed a welcome message in multiple languages. The campus has never looked better after the grounds crew’s power washing, mowing, and trimming work over the summer. Leaves on some deciduous trees are already turning a lovely, burnished color as the Penguin Nation steps into fall term 2024.
As on every first day, students stopped to peruse their phones, campus directory, and maps all over campus, and had questions: Where is this class? Where is this building? Where do I get my free bus pass? Where is the bookstore? Can someone help me?
The strategically located Welcome tables were there to help. Brand-new student ambassadors and student government representatives, together with staff and faculty volunteers, answered students’ questions, helped them find their classes, and distributed maps, snacks, and resource information. The tabling to assist students would not have been possible without the many staff and faculty volunteering their time to help Clark students, thanks to the coordination of Sarah Gruhler and the Student Life team. Students could find resources and campus activities on social media, too, with the new TikTok account posting about important services available across campus.
Other Welcome Week activities included first day of school pictures and the Counseling & Health Center open house. The fall athletics season has already started with volleyball, soccer, and cross country all having events this week.
Around campus, students congregated in their favorite gathering spots to catch up with friends and classmates. Cannell Library was a popular gathering place for students to sit with fellow students and work on their laptops.
Inside Gaiser Hall, students gathered in the food court to meet friends and get nourishment before their next class. Several stood in line at the retail bakery to try two specialty drinks: Japanese iced coffee and saffron latte. Some students bought wraps and salads at the grab-and-go. In the coming weeks, as culinary classes find their groove and move into full-production mode, there will be more food options, when the student restaurant reopens on October 1 and the student kiosk reopens on October 15.
For more information on campus activities, keep an eye on Clark’s events calendar: https://www.clark.edu/about/governance/calendars/events.php or follow us on Clark’s social media channels: https://www.clark.edu/campus-life/social-media.php.
Photos: Clark College/Jenny Shadley
View more photos from the first week of classes on our Flickr page: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjBK5Nf
