With a new year comes a new plan for incoming students. Under the banner of How2ESU, a number of programs, both new and old, are being enacted in order to help undergraduate new students become acclimated to Emporia State, including the Six Week Series, which spreads the orientation process out over six weeks.

Each week will have a theme related to transitions – campus involvement, Hornet pride, wellness, community engagement, academic success and diversity.

Jason Bosch, director of Student Affairs, Learning and Assessment, said that he’s most looking forward to Hornet pride week.

“For me, it’s so important to help new students really make ESU feel like home,” Bosch said. “I really view ESU as a family community…and I think it’s just so important that we help our new students who are coming into the Hornet family be able to make a smooth transition.”

Bosch co-chaired the committee that helped create the Six Week Series.

Beginning on Aug. 20, the program provides a number of activities and speakers based on each week’s theme for students to attend.

Josh Case, Morse Hall Complex coordinator, said that he was most looking forward to the t-shirt exchange on Aug. 28 and 29, where students can bring in non-ESU apparel and exchange it for a new ESU t-shirt. Case’s job with the series has been mostly to contact groups and let them know that How2ESU is looking for events for the series.

“I kind of see it (the Six Week Series) as a way of not overlapping events and really bringing a focus to some of the things that we do,” Case said. “People talk about extended orientation…about three days, so this is really extensive.”

Currently there are 19 events on the schedule and Case said that he’s hoping for more.

Other programs that fall under the umbrella of How2ESU are Hornet Connection and the E-Experience, which gives students a taste of life at ESU before the school year begins.

Frank Cortez, senior secondary education major, was a group leader for the E- Experience team.

“It showed them how to get involved, how easy it is to do so and the connections they made with their fellow students was the biggest thing,” Cortez said. “Not only with fellow freshmen but with older students. You can tell that talking to older students made them feel welcomed and more connected.”

The calendar of events for the Six Week Series can be found on the ESU website, along with information about the other programs that fall under the How2ESU banner.