ºÚÁÏ°Ù¿Æ

Welcome to ºÚÁÏ°Ù¿Æ! My name is Vrinda Varia, and I use she/her pronouns. I have the unique pleasure of serving campus as our associate chief diversity officer for intercultural student life. It is such a joy to welcome you to ºÚÁÏ°Ù¿Æ.

My incredible team and I get to work directly with students as they learn about who they are and dream about who theye going to become through their time at college. We do this through programs in our cultural centers, through engagement with our Multicultural Leadership Council, and through our Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program (PCPOP).

There are so many ways to get involved with Intercultural Affairs (ICA). I hope that wel see many of you at the various programs that we run or that youl just stop by our offices to say hello and learn a little bit more about us, so that we can learn a little bit more about you.

One of my favorite pieces of advice for incoming ºÚÁÏ°Ù¿Æians is to be brave. Starting college is a whole new journey, and there so much here to explore. I can™t wait for you all to be able to dip your toes into all that ºÚÁÏ°Ù¿Æ has to offer and to find what right for you.

Throughout today, I™m going to take you around to meet some of the incredible folks on my team, and wel stop by at the very end to say hello to PCPOP, the Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program I mentioned, at one of our monthly pop-ups ” just to make sure that they get to welcome you to ºÚÁÏ°Ù¿Æ as well.

If you have any questions, please don™t hesitate to reach out. And we look forward to seeing you just in a few weeks, here in August!

Vrinda: Welcome to the Stonewall Resource Center (SRC)! Let say hi to Micho.

Micho: Hi, I™m Micho Adler, assistant director of intercultural affairs, LGBTQIA+ student specialist. Welcome to the Stonewall Resource Center.

Vrinda: Do you have any advice for incoming first-years?

Micho: Yes; be open to new experiences.

Vrinda: Thanks, Micho! Wee gonna hop over to the BCC (Black Cultural Center) and say hi to Jenée.

Hi y™all, wee at the Conney M. Kimbo Black Cultural Center (BCC). Let stop in and say hi to Jenée. Hello!

Jenée: Hey, come on in!

Vrinda: How it going?

Jenée: So far, so good! How are you?

Vrinda: Good.

Jenée: Hey y™all! I™m Jenée Spencer. I have the honor of serving campus as a director of intercultural affairs, black student specialist.

Vrinda: Thanks, Jenée. Do you have any advice for any incoming students?

Jenée: Of course, because it hasn™t been that long since I was a first-year student myself. I would say, if I had any advice, it would be: Go to everything at least once. If there a club that seems interesting or if there is a group that seems like they have a mission that honors your shared goals, pop up. Try it out. And if you don™t like it, try something else.

Vrinda: Thanks, Jenée.

Jenée: Of course.

Vrinda: Wee going to go say hi to Audrey.

Jenée: Hey, Audrey!

Vrinda: Hi, y™all.

Wee stopping in to say hi to Adriana Torres, over at our Latinx Cultural Center. Hi Adriana, how are you?

Adriana: Good. How are you?

Vrinda: Good. Can you introduce yourself to some incoming students?

Adriana: Yes, my name is Adriana Torres. I am the assistant director of intercultural affairs, Latina student specialist.

Vrinda: Awesome. And Adriana, do you have any advice for incoming students?

Adriana: If people offer help, take it. Take all the help.

Vrinda: Thanks, Adriana. Wee going to go say hi to Roy now.

Adriana: Hi, Roy!

Vrinda: See you later. Bye!

Hi, y™all! Wee over by our multicultural suites in the Joe Rosenfield ™25 Center (JRC) to say hi to Roy Salcedo, who works with our Laurel scholars. Hi, Roy!

Roy: Hello, Vrinda!

Vrinda: How are you?

Roy: I™m doing well. And you?

Vrinda: I™m good, thank you. Roy, can you introduce yourself to some of our incoming students?

Roy: Yes. My name is Roy Salcedo, and I™m the director of intercultural affairs, Laurel scholars specialist.

Vrinda: Thanks, Roy. Roy, do you have any advice for incoming students?

Roy: Coming to ºÚÁÏ°Ù¿Æ, youe going to be challenged like you™ve never been challenged before. But more importantly, youe going to receive the support and resources to meet those challenges.

Vrinda: That awesome, Roy. Will you come with me over to the PCPOP (Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program) pop-up?

Roy: Oh yeah, I™m ready for some pop-up.

Vrinda: All right, wel see you all there.

PCPOP (Peer Connections Pre-Orientation Program) mentors: Welcome to ºÚÁÏ°Ù¿Æ!