Your student will receive a promotional gift at account opening

First Year Experience Programs

New Student Orientation and First Year Experience Program’s main purpose is to provide an introduction, connection to services and resources, and support of your Zag’s transition to Gonzaga University. Your Zag will be thinking about the anticipated transition of starting college, leaving familiar routines, and learning about whom they are, as a citizen of the world over the summer. It is our goal that your Zag will start to develop relationships with faculty, friendships with other new students, and love of the Gonzaga community during New Student Orientation.

During New Student Orientation, your Zag will hear similar messages that you will hear during Parent and Family Orientation. New Student Orientation will provide your student with the information and resources necessary for a successful start to the academic year all guided by their peers.

Your Zag will receive a copy of How to Zag, which is their workbook for the entire summer. How to Zag is broken out by monthly sections with to-dos, information on resources, and reflection questions for your Zag to journal about their transition to Gonzaga. Reflection is part of the Ignatian way of teaching and learning your Zag will experience as a part of life at a Jesuit, Catholic institution. Please guide from the side by having your Zag go through the to-dos and reflect in the workbook on their own.

During New Student Orientation, new students are told they do not have to know everything in the first weekend. How to Zag goes beyond the workbook and continues throughout the entire first semester through workshops sponsored by First Year Experience Programs, on topics your student will need to know after they’ve completed orientation and are ready to take the next step on being a Zag.

Family Homework

Ways families can transform their role from a high school to a collegiate family:

Begin to manage emotions to the changes happening with your student early. Talk about saying goodbye and how you are feeling before you leave them at their new home. Don’t wait until you drive away to discuss those emotions.

Start making plans to adjust to the “new family” norms, routines, and involvement. In many ways, your role will go from an everyday manager to an advisor (for some long-distance advisor).

Understand that your college student will grow the most in their first year academically, culturally, emotionally, financially, intellectually, and socially.

Promote problem-solving independence by asking questions on how they may solve this problem on their own – what resources are available to them on campus to solve the problem?

Reflect on your own goals, dreams, purpose and what ways you might choose to use this new time in your

Topics covered over the summer and during New Student Orientation ü

Conversations on healthy relationships, bystander intervention, mental/emotional well-being and alcohol and other drugs

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Meeting with their academic advisor

Welcome to the Spokane community

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Overview of the career development process

Mission and Transition Panel featuring speakers on academics, involvement, diversity, and Jesuit Catholic heritage

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New Student Orientation campus traditions