5,000 new MTSU freshmen, transfer students await CUSTOMS orientation

MTSU recently graduated more than 2,500 students during three spring commencement ceremonies. About 5,000 new freshmen and transfer students will be taking their place.

CUSTOMS new student orientation is already underway for transfer students and will begin in earnest later this week for incoming freshmen. About 3,000 new freshmen and their families will attend orientation through the end of July, and there are six more one-day visits scheduled through Aug. 6 for nearly 2,000 transfer students and their families.

Along with their parents, new MTSU students who started classes last fall wait to receive information from Student Orientation Assistants in May 2018 in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building on the first day of freshman orientation. Two months of freshmen orientation will start Thursday and Friday, May 16-17, for the fall 2109 semester.

New MTSU students wait to receive information from Student Orientation Assistants in the Tennessee Room of the James Union Building on the first day of May 2018 freshman orientation in this file photo. Two months of freshman orientation will start Thursday and Friday, May 16-17, for the fall 2019 semester. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

Coordinated by the Office of New Student and Family Programs, CUSTOMS introduces freshmen to the intellectual, cultural and social climate of the university.

To learn more about the orientation process and other dates, visit www.mtsu.edu/customs.

New students and their families travel across Tennessee and other neighboring states as well as across the country to attend CUSTOMS.

“Freshman CUSTOMS is 1½ days jam-packed full of great information for both incoming students and their family members,” said Lydia Cayton, a coordinator in the Office of New Student and Family Programs.

“CUSTOMS attendees should be prepared to do a lot of walking around campus, so we recommend wearing comfortable clothing and shoes as well as preparing ahead of time for any inclement weather that might be in the forecast,” Cayton added.

Now an MTSU sophomore, Meghan Wassom of Murfreesboro received helpful information from Matt Vining, an MTSU junior marketing major and Student Orientation Assistant, last May during the first day of freshman orientation for students starting at MTSU in August 2018. Orientation for transfer students is underway and will begin May 16-17 for freshmen. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

Meghan Wassom of Murfreesboro receives helpful information from Matt Vining, an MTSU junior marketing major and Student Orientation Assistant, during the first day of freshman orientation in May 2018 in this file photo. Orientation for transfer students starting classes in the fall 2019 semester is underway and will begin May 16-17 for freshmen. (MTSU file photo by Andy Heidt)

Transfer CUSTOMS sessions only require a one-day visit to campus.

Cayton urged those attending CUSTOMS to download the MTSU Mobile App before they come to campus.

“We are utilizing the app much more heavily this year, and all schedules, plus additional information for CUSTOMS, will be available by clicking on the CUSTOMS icon on the app’s home page,” she said.

Dr. Deb Sells, MTSU vice president of student affairs and vice provost of enrollment and academic services, will provide an official welcome to all the newcomers during their CUSTOMS sessions. When she speaks with freshmen, Sells will emphasize Convocation 2019, MTSU’s first formal gathering of the new 2019-20 academic year, and the university’s Summer Reading choice, the memoir “Educated” by Tara Westover. Westover will be the keynote speaker for Convocation, which is scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 24.

Gina Poff is director of the Office of New Student and Family Programs. For more information, call 615-898-2454.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

New sidewalk stickers will greet new incoming freshmen and transfer students attending CUSTOMS orientation this spring and summer, and help them find building locations. The first two days of freshman orientation will be Thursday and Friday, May 16-17, and continue for two months. (MTSU photo by News and Media Relations)