Starting college for the first time can be intimidating. New people, a new town, and a new school can understandably cause apprehension.
Rogers State University is ready to put any fears of new students at ease with its 2022 Hillcamp New Student Orientation event.
“Hillcamp is a four-day new student orientation camp, held the week before classes start at the Claremore campus,” explained Katie Anderson, RSU student activities coordinator. “It’s just a good way for incoming students – whether that’s incoming freshmen, transfer students, or anyone new to RSU – to get plugged into their new life as a Hillcat, to kind of dip their toes into RSU life, to meet their fellow Hillcats, and to get connected with upperclassmen, faculty and staff in a fun, success-oriented environment.”
Hillcamp is slated from Wednesday, Aug. 10 through Saturday, Aug. 13, with early move-in to student housing available for Hillcamp attendees.
“Move-in day for students living on campus will be Wednesday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.,” Anderson said. “Students that register (for Hillcamp) will be notified about their move-in time closer to the date of the camp itself.
“For students who aren’t going to be living on campus and for our commuters, we have an evening check-in, and then we have a couple of other activities that evening,” she said.
Students living off-campus should determine their living arrangements prior to Hillcamp, as on-campus housing will not be provided for them during this event.
“Thursday and Friday will be all-day – starting at breakfast in the morning and wrapping up around 11 p.m. or so – there’s a lot to do,” she said. “We like to cater to both early risers and those who stay up late, so there are fun and educational activities available for the students throughout the entire day.”
Hillcamp attendees are grouped with 10-12 other incoming students and that group is then assigned two upper-class students, who help walk them through their class schedules so that they’re familiar with the campus and will know where to go when their classes begin.
Among the activities Hillcamp attendees can look forward to are Build-Your-Own-Boat Races, a trip to Roller World, a campus-wide scavenger hunt, which helps familiarize students with the various offices across campus, and a lake party, with all students, faculty and staff at Claremore Lake, with food provided by BancFirst.
But Hillcamp offers much more than just fun activities for students. It’s also a time of learning important academic, financial and campus life information.
“One of the things we have during the week is a Department Fair, at which, students who come to Hillcamp uncertain about their majors can get information to help guide them to making their decision (about their majors),” she said, “and for those who already know what there major is, they have the chance to meet some professors that they’ll be having in the coming semester.”
Hillcamp attendees are encouraged to bring hand sanitizer, shorts, t-shirts, jeans, and an extra change of clothes, socks and tennis shoes, inclement weather gear (if necessary), sunscreen, bug repellent, and a swimming suit for water and pool activities.
Ultimately, Hillcamp is a unique opportunity for incoming students to ease into campus life, equipped with the knowledge and confidence for them to make the most out of their time at Rogers State University.
Rogers State University’s 2022 Hillcamp event will be held on campus from Wednesday, Aug. 10 through Saturday, Aug. 13 on RSU’s Claremore campus at 1701 W. Will Rogers Boulevard.
To learn more about residence information, contact residential life at [email protected] or call 918-343-7789.
For more information about Hillcamp, contact Anderson at 918-343-7755, by email at [email protected] or visit www.rsu.edu/hillcamp.