Newman’s first-ever Flight Nite — designed for incoming enrolled students — featured an overnight stay in the residence halls Thursday, June 29, to Friday, June 30.
Forty-six students opted for the summer night stay that kicked off with a welcoming pizza dinner and Singo Bingo game in the Tarcisia Roths ASC Alumni Center. Outdoor evening activities followed with a fire pit and s’mores.
In the morning, students enjoyed a Cracker Barrel breakfast, games and prizes with Newman faculty and staff.
Dean of Students Andi Giesen explained that the event’s goal was to give registered incoming students the opportunity to “begin to connect with each other, the Newman campus and culture.”
“We believe we accomplished that,” she said. “Students really engaged themselves in the event. We know that some new relationships were formed, which was very fulfilling to us. I have to say, the fire pit, s’mores and conversations were a highlight.”
Some students even bonded to the point of making requests to room together in the residence halls.
Students really engaged themselves in the event. We know that some new relationships were formed, which was very fulfilling to us.
Andi Giesen, Dean of Students
Giesen said the success of the event was not by accident.
“Josh (Prilliman, director of student activities) and Katherine (Reynoso, director of multicultural engagement and campus life) did an amazing job of planning,” Giesen said. “We are very grateful to the student workers who helped make this a success: Matthew Revels, Elginique Dames and Gabriel Trevino.”
For Prilliman, the overnight event was “a complete blessing.”
“Not only did we get to see these students make new friends, they got to meet some current students that wanted to be part of the fun for this event,” Prilliman said.
The smiles, laughter and friendly competition allowed students to let go of any initial nervousness while simultaneously getting to know faculty and staff in a fun setting.
“The excitement of Flight Nite was hard to beat,” Prilliman said. “Being the first big event for our Student Life team and having it go off the way it did was the biggest relief for all of us. We had a ton of fun Thursday night, but seeing the Jet family together for breakfast Friday morning was truly amazing.”
The Student Life crew plans to host this event again in the future, making it even better as the years go on.
Apply to Newman University
College life is more than classes, books, tests and residence halls — it’s about connecting with other people, making lifelong friends and future colleagues and building relationships with experienced faculty who can be a resource in your career and your life for years to come.
