Welcome Weekend is a time-honored tradition at California Baptist University. It is an opportunity for incoming freshman and transfer students to experience CBU life and all it has to offer.
The Community Life Office plays a key role in putting on Welcome Weekend each year.
Chris Hofschroer, assistant dean of students, shared the drive behind Community Life and its main goals in setting up Welcome Weekend. Hofschroer expressed the desire to provide students with knowledge and show them all that is available to experience on campus.
“Welcome Weekend requires the whole university to take responsibility of accepting and orientating the new students to this campus,” Hofschroer said. “We were blessed to lead it, but it takes an army of people from all divisions of campus to pull off Welcome Weekend. It shows the camaraderie and family of who we are as Lancers.”
The festivities started Friday, Aug. 30, with freshman move-in-day. Events continued Saturday with Purpose sessions and First Year Experience group sessions. Community Life also put on the This or That Kickback event and Meet the Inland Empire/Campus Involvement Fair.
Anna Saviage, junior business administration major, explained the important role Community Life has on campus.
Senior Sociology major Elizabeth Rivera, Senior Architecture major Jacob Arellano, and Junior Nutrition Food and Science major Juleene Mortiz help the new freshman men move into their new home at Smith Hall
“Comm. Life provides the events that show the heart and soul of campus. It’s a great way to get involved. They have different events students can go and hang out at such as outdoor adventure programs, intramural sports (and) Yule,” Saviage said. “These events provide a lot of fun opportunities for students to feel connected to campus and have a great college experience.”
The Campus Involvement Fair was filled with booths from local businesses, restaurants, churches and CBU offices. Students had the opportunity to get to know the surrounding area and discover more ways to get involved on campus.
Sam Robertus, freshman applied statistics major, said his favorite part of Welcome Weekend has been meeting his FYE group and going to the Purpose sessions with them.
“Getting to see all the ways to get involved on campus and the options available in the area has made Welcome Weekend really cool. I am looking forward to hanging out with my hall and FYE group more,” Robertus said.
Elijah Hickman | On August 31 2019 Inland Empire fair start at 7:00 p.m. numerous students came out to check out all the things that are in Riverside
Welcome Weekend continued Sunday with more Purpose sessions and DNA sessions. Purpose sessions explain and expand on CBU’s mission statement, that all students were created and live for a purpose. DNA sessions on the other hand were designed to show the nuts and bolts of what makes up campus and student life while providing students with the resources to thrive during their time at CBU.
McKenna Chitwood, junior public relations major, is an FYE leader who said she has enjoyed every minute of Welcome Weekend.
“Everyone is having a blast. The leaders are so stoked about it. The (students) seem to be having fun and getting involved, which is so cool,” Chitwood said.
“This is my second year being a leader. I have seen such a change from last year to this year. The amount of involvement and intentionality in the freshmen and leaders is so much higher.”
Welcome Weekend ended with a bang at Clash ‘n’ Roll on Monday, Sept. 3. The all-student event kicked off the semester by bringing together the student body with a fun game of Bunco, as well as various food trucks.
Austin Romito| James Sestric, Junior English and Christian Studies double major, shows off his moves for a crowd during the event Clash ‘n’ Roll. 
Hayden Schuljak| Mdifor Cabukum, Mechanical Engineer, Freashman, faces his pals in an intense round of Bunco. 
Austin Romito | CB Tanner Foster, business management teaches his fellow Lancers how to bust a move to the song “Wobble
