Welcome Day, which attracted more than 1,500 incoming students and their families to campus." /> Welcome Day, which attracted more than 1,500 incoming students and their families to campus." />

‘University is a marathon, not a sprint’

science students

Faculty of Science student representatives were among those helping to welcome incoming students to campus Friday. For some incoming students, like Jacob Bloomfield, the trip to campus was their first.


Wise words and sage advice were in no short supply at the University’s annual Welcome Day.

This year’s event, which took place last Friday, attracted more than 1,500 incoming students and their families to campus.

Jacob Brodka, MSU vice-president administration, joined Social Sciences lecturer Geraldine Voros at a session on how to handle academic expectations.

Brodka told students to avoid taking on more than they can handle, and to regularly check in with friends. “University is a marathon, not a sprint,” he offered.

Incoming students and their families toured campus residences and libraries, the McMaster Museum of Art and the David Braley Athletic Centre. Many guests also signed up for popular bus tours of downtown Hamilton.

Hadia Tahir, an incoming Life Sciences student, attended Welcome Day to explore the campus, attend seminars, see her residence hall and develop a better understanding of the transition from high school to university.

“I enjoyed the De-Bunking Myths seminar and talking to students about what university was like for them instead of just hearing about it from a professor,” she said.

Welcome Day was incoming Mathematics & Science student Jacob Bloomfield’s first visit to campus – a place he called “beautiful.”

For those who missed out, video lectures from Welcome Day will be posted to YouTube in the days ahead. Topics include: academic workflow, finances, transitioning from high school to university and taking effective study notes.

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