2020 Fall Welcome
The 2020 Fall Welcome orientation took place on Saturday, September 19 on Zoom. A total of 12 students and 6 faculty members (METRIC Co-PIs and evaluators) participated this virtual event.
The orientation started with an ice breaker where participants changed their zoom background photo and shared the meaning of their photos. The program PI, Dr. Jen-Mei Chang, then welcomed new members of the program and provided a brief update on the current student cohort and program resources. A student shared the struggles and challenges that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to her and her family and talked about how she grew stronger. Her stories inspired everyone there. Another student shared how the METRIC program brought her out of her comfort zone, pushed her to try out new things, and connected her to valuable resources.
The 2-hour event continued in the second half with a science and mathematics jeopardy game where three teams answered questions in Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Geology, and Mathematics. Students showcased their knowledge in science and mathematics and everyone agreed that Cyna has extremely fast fingers. Following the high-intensity jeopardy game, the program continued with an activity called, "Spreading Positivity," where people wrote positive things about others on a shared PowerPoint file. The fact that each person's slide was immediately filled with comments really highlighted the camaraderie the students and faculty share. The event concluded with each discipline group meeting in a breakout room and taking a photo/screenshot of a shape that was made with everyone in the room.
The purposes of this much-needed welcome were to:
- introduce new faces.
- build camaraderie.
- reconnect students and faculty during challenging times.
Event Photos
