It's not every week at Andrews University that students get to enjoy Beach Olympics at Warren Dunes, breakfast with their advisors, and a Wednesday night pizza feed. On August 19–26, however, incoming freshmen and transfer students experienced all this and more at the All Fired Up! orientation week.

After getting situated in the dorms, students gathered in front of Nethery Hall for the "Get Acquainted Corn Roast," which gave them a chance to socialize and make new friends. "The most important aspect of All Fired Up! by far is the relationships that are established," said Steve Yeagley, assistant to the vice president for Student Services and orientation organizer.

On Wednesday evening, after a day-long crash course in college protocol and testing, students met for the first time with their family groups. "Family groups are the launching pad to establishing a good support system of friends," said Yeagley. "Our job is to help them feel like they have a home here."

Family groups are led by returning Andrews students, many of them sophomores, who can give fresh, relevant advice to first-year students. "A large part of my decision in becoming a family group leader was the influence that my family group leaders had in making me feel part of a family my freshman year," said Sarah Sweeney, a sophomore English major.

All good things must come to an end, however, including All Fired Up! And the sad thing is that although you might be a senior for many years, you can only be a first-year student once. But there is always a chance to relive All Fired Up! as a family group leader. Sweeney says, "I enjoyed it so much that I just had to come back and pay it forward."

Robert Moncrieff, student news writer, University Relations