Checking in: Orientation volunteers deliver a warm welcome to new arrivals during the Move In and Check In days over the weekend.

Orientation Week continues today, with major events including a Goose Chase for Architecture students, an Arts scavenger hunt, Environment's Odyssey event at Waterloo Park, and a Science leader chase, along with performances of Single & Sexy, various academic introductions and service tours, and an evening Mixer.

Photograph courtesy of Waterloo Orientation.

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International students Waterloo-bound

By Jodi Szimanski, Student Success Office

On Saturday, September 1 and Sunday, September 2, a dozen International Student Experience volunteers headed to the Toronto Pearson International Airport. Their purpose: to welcome international students flying into Toronto headed to Waterloo. After visiting Canadian Immigration and getting through customs, students are happy to see a friendly face from their new home for the next few years.

The group met 237 students from various countries including Australia, China, India, France, Germany and Sweden. The students looked for the big University of Waterloo posters where they were able to meet an enthusiastic volunteer, get help with their luggage and a ride to the campus.

"This is going to sound corny, but I love Airport Pick-Up Day more than my birthday and Christmas put together," writes Michelle Burlock, international marketing and recruitment specialist. "Nothing can describe the appreciation an international student feels when they've travelled half way around the world and are greeted by a friendly uWaterloo face."

"Every year, something happens that warms my heart," Burlock continues. "This year it was Lorenzo. I met Lorenzo twice in Oman and have been in touch with him many times since then. I knew when his flight was coming in but there was no sign of him. Our last bus was supposed to leave at 9:00 p.m., but I was dragging my feet to give him more time. Around 9:30 p.m., I was doing a last sweep when another student chased us down at the bus. He said he had met a uWaterloo student in the student visa line and that student wasn't out yet. So back in I went to look for him one more time. Just as the elevator doors were closing, in jumps Lorenzo, he screams my name and gives me a big hug."

“This is the sixth year that we’ve run this program,” said Maggie Xiaohui Liang, international education/ immigration advisor with International Student Experience. “New students love the feeling of being welcomed right off the planes. And the volunteers consider it an exciting experience to meet the new students on their very first day in Canada, show them Waterloo hospitality and make them feel comfortable and welcome as they arrive in an unfamiliar place.”

This is just one of the many orientation programs that the International Student Experience team runs to help students with their transition to Canada and to the university. The group runs campus tours and library tours and offers advising services. The team also runs various other programs out of the Student Success Office in South Campus Hall.

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Conference of a lifetime takes place this week

The University of Waterloo will play host to experts in the field of insurance and risk whey they gather for the Eighth International Longevity Risk and Capital Markets Solutions Conference on Friday, September 7 and Saturday, September 8.

Conference speakers will share their expertise on the impact our aging population will have on pension and insurance premiums at the two-day conference, held at the Waterloo Inn Conference Hotel and hosted by Waterloo's School of Accounting and Finance.

This is the first time that the Longevity conference has been held in Canada. The conference will address why people are living longer and the financial cost of this trend.

Keynote speakers include:

• Amy Kessler, Senior Vice-President and Head of Longevity Reinsurance at Prudential Financial;
• Brent Simmons, Senior Managing Director of Defined Benefit Solutions at Sun Life Financial; and
• John Kiff, Senior Financial Sector Expert at the International Monetary Fund, and part of the team that produces the semi-annual Global Financial Stability Report.

The Longevity 8 conference is co-hosted by the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, the Waterloo Research Institute in Insurance, Securities and Quantitative Finance (WatRISQ), and the Pensions Institute at Cass Business School, City University London.

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Black and Gold Day set for Saturday

by Dan Ackerman, communications co-ordinator, uWaterloo Athletics

The 2012 edition of Black and Gold day will feature the Warrior football team as they battle the McMaster Marauders on Saturday, September 8 in their second game of the season.

Kickoff is set for 1:00 p.m. at Warrior Field.

The game can be seen live on the Streaming Sports Network (SSN Canada) featuring the voice of Waterloo football Sam Charles.

Don't miss out on the pre-game carnival happening on the CIF fields adjacent to Warrior Field and the always anticipated orientation leader dance at half time. There will also be a ceremonial kickoff by Federation of Students (FEDS) president Andrew Noble and the game ball delivery by Swoop Skydivers.

Photograph courtesy of uWaterloo Athletics.

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