DelaWorld welcomes new students
DelaWorld student leaders are helping to welcome 3,800 new students and 9,000 family members to UD this summer.
5:11 p.m., June 18, 2007--New student orientation, running from June 19-July19, is not just an introduction to life at the University of Delaware, it's DelaWorld, a fun and informative briefing for new students and their parents on the best way to get started at UD.

Freshmen and transfer students will begin their introduction to UD as the University welcomes Patrick Harker, its 26th president. Harker takes over on July 1 from David Roselle, who is stepping down after 17 years as president of UD.

Also new this year is the way students registered for orientation. Faye Duffy, senior associate director of admissions and director of DelaWorld, said that this year for the first time students could sign up for DelaWorld online.

“This is the largest group attending DelaWorld since I became involved with it in 1989,” Duffy said. "There are 3,800 new students and 9,000 parents. We are working with a staff of 100, and there are 16 DelaWorld leaders on the student staff."

DelaWorld student leaders dedicate most of their summer to making sure incoming freshman and transfer students don't feel like strangers.

DelaWorld leader, Nathan Barillo, a junior international relations major, said when he came to UD as a freshman he really enjoyed his DelaWorld experience. “It was the enthusiasm the leaders showed me; it got me excited about the school. I knew that eventually I'd want to share that enthusiasm with incoming students. It's really just about being able to give back to students so they can have the same experience I did and learn to love the University,” he said.

DelaWorld leaders (from left) Lori Jane Hanhaffer, Teagan Gregory Jr. and Pooja Aysola prepare information packets for new UD students.
When students and parents arrive at the Trabant University Center at 8 a.m., they are welcomed by DelaWorld student leaders.

“The leaders welcome all the parents and students. We're the first faces they see when they get to DelaWorld," junior Teagan Gregory, an international relations major and DelaWorld leader explained. "We perform a morning skit for them and give morning introductions. We run information sessions, staff information tables, sit on panels and give tours.”

After the morning session, parents and students go their separate ways.

Students meet new and current UD students, learn about campus life, housing and technology and what is available to them and how to go about arranging for it. They can see an academic adviser for guidance on what classes to take in the fall and then register.

DelaWorld also allows them to obtain UD#1 ID cards, sign up for online billing and attend the DelaWorld Fair, where representatives from athletics, music, honors, service, Greek, social and other organizations have information on what groups they can join. Students also will be introduced to the city of Newark and opportunities at UD for travel, service learning, career development, academic enrichment and wellness programs.

Parents attend sessions on academic and student life to give them an idea of what their students will be experiencing. They meet other new parents and the parents of current students. University representatives are on hand, too, to answer questions about billing, financial aid, housing, student health, computing, banking, dining and almost anything else that concerns parents.

DelaWorld leader Ryan Clemens: “I can’t think of any other job I could have done this summer that would have given me all the variety or all skills that I’m gaining from this one.”
Besides being exciting for new students, DelaWorld is a rewarding experience for DelaWorld leaders.

Junior Lori Jane “L.J.” Henhaffer, an elementary teacher education major and cheerleader, said, “You work with a great team, and you learn leadership and team skills that you can use throughout your life."

Ryan Clemens, a junior computing engineering major, agrees. “What you're doing is a lot of fun. You learn a lot of valuable life lessons. I can't think of any other job I could have done this summer that would have given me all the variety or all skills that I'm gaining from this one.”

Article by Barbara Garrison
Photos by Kathy Atkinson and Sarah Simon