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For the first time this year, CU Engineering is offering a special on-campus Summer Experience to incoming freshmen living in the Engineering Quad.

The quad, which includes Aden, Brackett, Crosman and Cockerell residence halls, is made up of students from a range of majors within the College of Engineering and Applied Science and the Pre-Engineering Program.

The Summer Experience allows new first-year students to spend four days and three nights on campus in June to get a first taste of life at CU Engineering.

Participants will meet fellow students from a variety of engineering majors, learn their way around campus, participate in a hands-on engineering project and join engineering alumni for dinner.

“We want to help smooth the transition for our new engineering students so they’ll feel excited and prepared when they arrive on campus in the fall,” said Allie Carpenter, first-year experience coordinator. “If this pilot is successful, we hope to eventually scale it so every incoming engineer can get the flavor of campus before the semester begins.”

The 150 students who participate this year will have a leg up as they start building their new community at CU �鶹ӰԺ and will get insights from upperclassmen for starting the year right. They’ll also get to know faculty, staff and administrators who are helping them make the leap to college.

Working in groups of 10 or fewer, they will explore ATLAS, the and the Idea Forge while working on a design project throughout the week. Finally, they’ll meet and mingle with who can share personal stories of life after graduation from CU Engineering and how they found success in their fields.

Once they begin in the fall, students living in the Engineering Quad Living & Learning Community also have exclusive access to a first-year symposium course, a designated computer lab with engineering software, free tutoring, and special programs and events.

“The Summer Experience is intended to ‘plant seeds’ with our incoming class to start thinking about what it means to be a CU Engineer and how to build connections with peers that have different identities, “ Carpenter said. “We believe starting the year right can make a difference with students’ comfort levels, resiliency and pathway to graduation."