University of South Florida-Main Campus Top Questions

The Week of Welcome (W.O.W) kickoff in the Fall Semester.

I will never forget the second day I stepped on campus. It was the Friday before classes officially started during my freshmen year. I was being awarded a scholarship from the Helios/Aripoli Foundation. That day, everything was hectic. I arrived on campus and enjoyed from a delicious dinner. Then we were asked to go up the stage as our names were called and receive our award. During the ceremony, I was able to meet my donor and sit next to him. I also had the chance to thank him personally, exchange business cards and of course, ask for guidance and tutelage. As my name was called, I walked to the stage, feeling nervous that I would fall over because of my high heels; but at the same time, I felt so empowered and so grateful that I had arrived to such a wonderful university and that my first encounter with it, besides orientation, was such a ceremony; where hundreds of people gathered to honor our accomplishments and wish us best in our endeavors. Since that day I realized that I had come to the right place to further my education; not for the praise they had given me or any of the other scholars; but because of the meticulous preparation of a wonderful group of individuals who worked hard to make a group of freshmen students, nervous about the next four years of their life, feel confident that they could do it; that there was nothing to be nervous about.