“Orientation provided me the opportunity to establish roots at Arcadia before leaving to study abroad for four months as part of the First Year Study Abroad Experience (FYSAE),” says Emily Young ’14. “It allowed me to meet people who I reunited with once back on the Glenside campus; familiarize myself with all the amenities of the campus, such as The Chat, Library, and the main academic buildings; and just have fun with my fellow classmates. It really pumped me up for my experience abroad while at the same time giving me something to look forward to when I returned home—a tight-knit, friendly, peaceful and beautiful campus.”

“While overseas, I stayed connected to Arcadia by making lifelong friendships with my fellow FYSAE classmates and we are still best friends. Also, I received e-mails about all the events going on around campus and made sure to visit the Activities Fair as soon as I returned to get involved with as many clubs as possible.

“Arcadia’s FYSAE mentors held a whole special weekend for the FYSAE group upon our return to make sure we got readjusted to the campus and community. Some events of the weekend included taking a group trip into Philadelphia to explore the city; a bingo night; seminars about campus services and resources; a campus tour; a crafts night; and many other fun and informational events to get us reacclimated to Arcadia and reassure us that we have a support group to go to if we ever experienced any problems during our transitional stage. It really meant a lot that they cared so much about us having a fun and easy transition back to Arcadia that most of us experienced just that.”