Cecil Cardinal braves the heat to welcome new and familiar NIC students to the Day of Welcoming. (Ethan Schlussler)
North Idaho College’s Day of Welcome was certainly a warm one. Temperatures soared into the 90s while more than 1,200 people meandered and mingled throughout the afternoon. Even Cecil Cardinal braved the heat to enjoy the annual social function.
“It’s like 500 degrees in here!” said Rachquel Foster, 19, Post Falls, general studies, with a hearty laugh. Foster welcomed guests while in the mascot suit.
“Day of Welcome is fantastic, I absolutely love it,” she said. “There are so many fun games down here.”
A large crowd of students and faculty gathered in the Fort Sherman Park on the west side of the SUB Aug. 24 from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. to participate in games and raffles. Food and gray shirts with the Cardinal logo were given to those who made their way to the event. Campus clubs, divisions and organizations hosted booths where people could learn about the different associations while winning prizes and honing in on some free goodies.
“It was a great way to welcome our students to campus,” said Alex Harris, director of student development. “A big thank you goes out to all of the staff, faculty, and student leaders who helped make the 2011 Day of Welcome a success.”
Danika Johnson, 19, Kalispell, education, Megan Larson, 19, Metaline Falls, Wash., business, and Daniel Connelly, 19, Rathdrum, general studies, all won miniature basketball hoop sets after spinning the “instant issue wheel” at the Mountain West Bank booth.
“I feel like a kid at a carnival again, and I like it,” Johnson said.
“There’s just something about getting out of class and getting free food. It makes me happy,” Connelly said. Other students competed for prizes offered through raffle and otherwise such as pens, LED lights, extra raffle tickets and a large gift basket.
The Lewis-Clark State College table included a ping-pong ball toss into small glasses. Jody Neuberger, administrative assistant for admissions and business major, Coeur d’Alene, and Desaray Jolly, 25, education major, Blanchard, handed out LCSC info, lip moisturizer, pens and notepads.
“I had the chap stick out for a while but it was melting in the sun,” Neuberger said.
The table representing University of Idaho included a Bolo Toss; NIC’s Children’s Center had a bean bag toss; croquet was held at the Academic Support Services table; Scrabble boards sat atop the Communication Arts table; the Center for New Directions joined with Health Services and Counseling to host an apple stack and chap stick/chopstick stack; and the Admission and Registrar’s office featured a game called Holey Board (another tablegame played with metal washers) and a cupcake walk.
Outdoor Pursuits members presented a giant yellow inflated recreation raft, on which people played tug-o-war. Students and even some small children competed while standing on the raft’s edges. People tugged and pulled each other until someone landed in the raft or on the lawn.
“That was a lot of fun. My hands got rope burned a little bit,” said Tareyn White, 18, Santa Barbara, Calif., pre-med.
“That raft actually caught on fire once,” said Outdoor Pursuits coordinator Jacob Rothrock. The Outdoor Pursuits crew kept many people entertained during the event with the raft tug-o-war and a fun atmosphere.
The Day of Welcome annually takes place the first week of fall semester.
Megan Larson, 19, business, Danika Johnson, 19, education, and Daniel Connelly, 19, general studies, show off their free schwag at NIC's Day of Welcome. (Ethan Schlussler)
