Students Welcomed Via Virtual Orientation
Westmont welcomes its new students to a virtual Orientation Aug. 27-29 to learn about the educational program and meet faculty, staff and fellow students. The college has postponed repopulating until the COVID-19 case rate in Santa Barbara County drops below the state-mandated threshold. Classes will begin remotely Aug. 31, with Westmont planning to bring students back to campus Sept. 25-27 and resume classes in person and indoors Sept. 28 pending county and state approval.
“We’re beginners at dealing with a global pandemic or starting college with COVID-19 adaptations,” says Angela D’Amour, dean of student engagement and Orientation team director. “It’s hard, awkward and frustrating. We may not like it, but we’re developing adaptability and a tolerance for ambiguity. These life skills will serve us well both now and later.”
New students have already been using virtual platforms through Westmont’s Lunch and Learn Series, which features live video segments from the campus pastor, disability services, Intercultural Programs, and global education and off-campus programs, to name a few. Over 40 current Westmont students are orientation leaders and using Zoom and other virtual opportunities to help usher new students to Westmont. The Westmont community guide app details the virtual Orientation events, including a welcome session, small-group meetings, breakout sessions for student organization and a kick-off for the first-year seminar, “Story.”“We each have a story, and we’re part of a larger story — one that shapes the course of our lives,” D’Amour says. “Students will explore their story and learn the stories of those in their new community. We encourage them to accept the challenge of welcoming God’s story in their life in new ways.”
These small seminars build community with professors and fellow students from their residence hall. Together, the students will chart the course of their Westmont experience and walk through this unique period of transition.
President Gayle D. Beebe and the executive team have held periodic phone calls with students and their parents, updating them about Westmont’s repopulation plan.
Faculty and staff worked tirelessly during the summer crafting a 150-page planning document that meets or exceeds the reopening guidelines for higher education released by the governor’s office on Aug. 7. Santa Barbara County remains on the state’s monitoring list because it has more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents during the past 14 days. Westmont is the right size—1,300 students—to adapt its plans and scenarios to respond to changing health requirements. Its Montecito location also makes options such as outdoor learning and class sizes smaller than 10 students possible.
ABC’s national Good Morning America program included Westmont in a story about colleges planning for the fall semester, featuring the installation of Plexiglas throughout the Dining Commons.
In each conference call or Zoom opportunity with students, new and returning, the message of practicing all the safety protocols is stressed, stating it will take their good citizenship and respect for others to keep Westmont open and operating without disruption.