Starting May 20, New Mexico State University will be welcoming incoming freshman to the Aggie Welcome & Orientation in-person.  

According to the Aggie Welcome & Orientation website, there will be a total of nine in-person freshmen orientations and one in-person orientation for transfer students. The last in-person Freshman Orientation will be held Aug. 2.  

Amanda Madrid, an admissions advisor for NMSU, said that the in-person details of the Aggie Welcome & Orientation will depend on the mandatory guidelines set by New Mexico and NMSU. Madrid said that they will also have to pay attention to the COVID guidelines set by other states, as students from all over the country attend NMSU. Overall, Madrid said that the “best interest of the students” is what comes first when planning the Aggie Welcome & Orientation.  

As states are reopening and guidelines for COVID safety procedures are changing, the Aggie Welcome & Orientation is paying close attention to how their plans will be affected. If there are any new requirements for students, “changes will be made know to students as soon as possible,” Madrid said.  

 The Freshmen Aggie Welcome & Orientations are planned to span over two days, as they did before the COVID pandemic. There are plans for incoming freshmen to stay in dorm rooms on campus and enjoy meals at Taos.  

Madrid said that the Aggie Welcome & Orientation will be “following any protocols for housing, dining, [and will be] checking with housing and dining services.” 

There is a component of the Aggie Welcome & Orientation that students do not take part in. The families of incoming Aggies have the option to attend sessions that talk about what it will be like to have a student in college. 

Liz Vigil, the family outreach specialist of the Aggie Welcome & Orientation team, assures future Aggie families that they will receive the full orientation experience, whether they come in-person or online. 

 “We try to do the same experience in-person and virtual so that they’re not missing out anything, other than sitting in the same room as us,” Vigil said. 

“We’ll have their program and we’ll do similar things [to the student side], we’ll do our first gen and multi-gen breakout. Our opening sessions for families is called ‘Welcome to the Family,’ which is about the family’s role in the NMSU community because they do play a big part in their student’s journey,” Vigil said.  

 Vigil stressed the importance of making families feel welcome and helping them understand what it means to be an Aggie amidst COVID restrictions.  

“We are flexible are ready to jump to provide a level of support that that is synonymous with what it means to be part of the Aggie family,” Vigil said.  

Both Vigil and Madrid said that the plan is to have in-person orientations and the staff of the Aggie Welcome & Orientation are prepared to make changes and work for the best interest of the students attending orientations.