Getting Oriented

University at Albany University at Albany Headlines

Getting Oriented 
























Welcome to UAlbany, new freshmen and transfers!  


ALBANY, N.Y. (July 17, 2017) – Matthew Martinez remembers the day his family dropped him off at UAlbany to begin his freshman year.
When it was time for them to leave, Matt turned around to see his little brother with his head down, crying.
“What’s the matter?” Matt asked.
“You’re leaving me,” said his brother.
It was a tough moment.
“I love my little brother more than anything in the whole world,” said Matt, a criminal justice and political science major from Brooklyn, N.Y. Matt reassured him that he would come home to visit, and that even though he was away at college, he would always be there for his brother.
It meant a lot to Matt that his family came to see him off and that they support him.
Matt, an Educational Opportunities Program student who is entering his sophomore year, told this story at a recent orientation session for families of incoming freshmen.
Speakers from various offices on campus covered topics including career development, keeping your laptop safe (lock your dorm room door when you’re not there) and homesickness. Matt and three other orientation leaders – Pam Mejia, Jaleen Fraser and Shelby Mack – talked about how they successfully made the transition from home to university life. 














From left, Shelby Mack, Pam Mejia, Matthew Martinez and Jaleen Fraser welcome incoming freshmen and their families to UAlbany.



Approximately 2,300 freshmen and 1,300 transfer students are attending Orientation sessions through July 31. The sessions are run by the Office of Orientation and Transition Programs.
Jaleen, who will be a junior in the fall, responded to a question about tutoring. “First semester I got a 3.0. The next semester, I went to tutoring for every class and I made the Dean’s List,” she said. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Jaleen is a human biology major ...

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