Hundreds of eager freshmen crowd into the WRC basketball court, firmly marking the beginning of freshman orientations, and with them, dozens of student organizations man tables lining the walls. The curious students question representatives at each table, gathering flyers and signing up for mailing lists; the organizations answer questions and try to keep up with the constant inflow of freshmen.
Over the past several weeks, Upsilon Pi Epsilon (UPE) has been tabling at each freshman orientation, giving information to incoming students and signing up new members. Members of the UPE outreach team explained to freshmen about exciting upcoming events, such as ShellHacks in the Fall and their numerous workshops for personal and professional development. Interested freshmen signed up for the UPE mailing list, ensuring that they stay up to date with all of the latest events.
Natalie Whitehead, coordinator of UPE Outreach, shared her experience organizing the freshman orientation tabling: “Coordinating the freshman orientations was a lot of fun. I loved being able to interact with young adults that have so much potential and have the opportunity to engage in UPE’s close community. UPE really changed my life for the better and I want to do the same for the new students coming in.”
UPE has several events planned in the very near future, starting off the Fall 2018 semester with its Fall Kickoff Week and, later on, ShellHacks, FIU’s upcoming hackathon. In addition, the organization will be hosting several workshops covering topics such as software and hardware development, professional development, and more. Stay tuned for future event announcements from UPE!
Written by: Matt Taylor