Message from the Coordinator

Message from the Coordinator

JarettLet me be the first to congratulate you on choosing Western University as your home for the next four years! The Society for Off Campus Students (or SOCS, not to be confused with SOCKS) is a group of 67 passionate, enthusiastic and big-hearted individuals who dedicate themselves to making sure that the life of a first year student living Off Campus at Western is outstanding and unforgettable. The Off Campus Sophs are upper year students who come from a number of different backgrounds, and I’m sure that you’re going to love each and every one of them. As OC Sophs, we’re here to help you through some of the difficulties of living Off Campus in your first year at Western, and our job is to make sure that your first year at Western offers you the same opportunities as a residence student’s first year. Trust me, as soon as you see the purple OC Sophs on Concrete Beach on Registration Day, you won’t be able to contain your excitement. For more information, follow us on twitter @off_campus2012, or send me an email directly at socs@uwo.ca. The team of 60+ Off Campus Sophs are amazing leaders, goodhearted individuals and lovers of all things Orientation, and I’m certain that as soon as you meet them, you’ll love them as much as I do.


Jarrett McCourt
2012 SOCS Coordinator/Off-Campus Head Soph

O-Week

If you ask anyone about their Orientation Week experience at Western, they’ll probably use words like: unforgettable, amazing and spectacular. This year’s O-Week for the Class of 2016 will be no different, as this year’s Off Campus team has a lot in store to make sure that your first week at Western is fun, engaging and as welcoming as possible. The best part: there’s something for everyone. If you like huge dances with loud music and tons of people, there’s definitely that. But if you don’t, there’s at least one other thing to do at all times, like campfires, movies and much more! This is my third Orientation Week as a Soph, and if I were to say one thing, is that I recommend doing at least one thing that you’re scared of. Orientation Week is about meeting people, experimenting and trying new things, so don’t be afraid to do something new! This is your Orientation Week, make it count.
 

Sophs? (pronounced SOFF, not SOOOF)


The Sophs of OriSOCS Sophsentation Week are a group of approximately 900 individuals who dedicate themselves to making sure your transition into Western is as smooth as possible. When you see them during O-Week, they’ll be dressed in a myriad of different colors, but your Off Campus soph will be sporting purple shorts and white shirts, so they’ll be easy to spot during the craziness that is O-Week. On OC Registration Day, happening on the Monday (September 3rd) of O-Week, you’ll be able to meet the enthusiastic group of 60+ Off-Campus sophs who are equally if not MORE excited to meet you.

So, O-Week’s done. What NOW?

The Society of Off-Campus Students (SOCS for short, because we’re too excited to spell the whole thing out) is committed to making ALL Off Campus first-years feel at home here at Western all year long, through our events and our resources. We’re responsible for organizing formals, socials and SO MANY MORE EVENTS to make Western feel like home. Whatever you're into or wherever your interests may lie, you will ALWAYS find something to get excited about throughout your first year with Off-Campus! Your OC Soph will stay in contact with you throughout the year and we'll have enough events planned that it will be IMPOSSIBLE to get bored! Also, if you're ever in need of a place to take a break from all the studying, a place to eat lunch, a place to just hang out, or a place if you need help, there's the Off-Campus Resource Centre (or the OCRC), located right in the University Community Centre, the OCRC (UCC 271) is a place where anyone is welcome to come with any question, or to just chill out for a little while!

DiscoverOC: Dare to Dream, and Imagine the Impossible:

As per the larger theme of “Western’s Imaginarium”, as established by Orientation Staff, a first-year students’ first year at Western is a time of experimentation. As you learn more about the beautiful campus where you’ll be spending the next four years of your life, you end up learning a lot about yourself in the process.

Enter DiscoverOC. Based on the ideals of the “Discovery Channel”, the first year experience at Western is a multi-dimensional learning experience where one learns copious amounts of knowledge about Western, London life, and themselves. Discovery Channel's previous taglines had been "Explore Your World" and "There's no thrill like discovery." However in view of its changing focus towards more reality-based programming and away from strictly educational programming, the slogan was changed to "Entertain Your Brain". This shift embodies precisely the kind of year the Off Campus soph team wants to create for our Off Campus First-Years: we want to encourage you to discover, dare to dream, and attempt the impossible. In addition to the enormous amount of programming that can be attached to this theme, we feel that this theme is creative, imaginative and rolls off the tongue. (Just say “DiscoverOC” a few times. Sounds like “Discovery” after a little while, right?)

Message from the Coordinator

 

Let me be the first to congratulate you on choosing Western University as your home for the next four years! The Society for Off Campus Students (or SOCS, not to be confused with SOCKS) is a group of 67 passionate, enthusiastic and big-hearted individuals who dedicate themselves to making sure that the life of a first year student living Off Campus at Western is outstanding and unforgettable. The Off Campus Sophs are upper year students who come from a number of different backgrounds, and I’m sure that you’re going to love each and every one of them. As OC Sophs, we’re here to help you through some of the difficulties of living Off Campus in your first year at Western, and our job is to make sure that your first year at Western offers you the same opportunities as a residence student’s first year. Trust me, as soon as you see the purple OC Sophs on Concrete Beach on Registration Day, you won’t be able to contain your excitement. For more information, follow us on twitter @off_campus2012, or send me an email directly at socs@uwo.ca. The team of 60+ Off Campus Sophs are amazing leaders, goodhearted individuals and lovers of all things Orientation, and I’m certain that as soon as you meet them, you’ll love them as much as I do.

 

Jarrett McCourt

2012 SOCS Coordinator/Off-Campus Head Soph

O-Week

If you ask anyone about their Orientation Week experience at Western, they’ll probably use words like: unforgettable, amazing and spectacular. This year’s O-Week for the Class of 2016 will be no different, as this year’s Off Campus team has a lot in store to make sure that your first week at Western is fun, engaging and as welcoming as possible. The best part: there’s something for everyone. If you like huge dances with loud music and tons of people, there’s definitely that. But if you don’t, there’s at least one other thing to do at all times, like campfires, movies and much more! This is my third Orientation Week as a Soph, and if I were to say one thing, is that I recommend doing at least one thing that you’re scared of. Orientation Week is about meeting people, experimenting and trying new things, so don’t be afraid to do something new! This is your Orientation Week, make it count.



Sophs? (pronounced SOFF, not SOOOF)

 

The Sophs of Orientation Week are a group of approximately 900 individuals who dedicate themselves to making sure your transition into Western is as smooth as possible. When you see them during O-Week, they’ll be dressed in a myriad of different colors, but your Off Campus soph will be sporting purple shorts and white shirts, so they’ll be easy to spot during the craziness that is O-Week. On OC Registration Day, happening on the Monday (September 3rd) of O-Week, you’ll be able to meet the enthusiastic group of 60+ Off-Campus sophs who are equally if not MORE excited to meet you.

 

So, O-Week’s done. What NOW?

 

The Society of Off-Campus Students (SOCS for short, because we’re too excited to spell the whole thing out) is committed to making ALL Off Campus first-years feel at home here at Western all year long, through our events and our resources. We’re responsible for organizing formals, socials and SO MANY MORE EVENTS to make Western feel like home. Whatever you're into or wherever your interests may lie, you will ALWAYS find something to get excited about throughout your first year with Off-Campus! Your OC Soph will stay in contact with you throughout the year and we'll have enough events planned that it will be IMPOSSIBLE to get bored! Also, if you're ever in need of a place to take a break from all the studying, a place to eat lunch, a place to just hang out, or a place if you need help, there's the Off-Campus Resource Centre (or the OCRC), located right in the University Community Centre, the OCRC (UCC 271) is a place where anyone is welcome to come with any question, or to just chill out for a little while!

 

DiscoverOC: Dare to Dream, and Imagine the Impossible:

 

As per the larger theme of “Western’s Imaginarium”, as established by Orientation Staff, a first-year students’ first year at Western is a time of experimentation. As you learn more about the beautiful campus where you’ll be spending the next four years of your life, you end up learning a lot about yourself in the process.

 

Enter DiscoverOC. Based on the ideals of the “Discovery Channel”, the first year experience at Western is a multi-dimensional learning experience where one learns copious amounts of knowledge about Western, London life, and themselves. Discovery Channel's previous taglines had been "Explore Your World" and "There's no thrill like discovery." However in view of its changing focus towards more reality-based programming and away from strictly educational programming, the slogan was changed to "Entertain Your Brain". This shift embodies precisely the kind of year the Off Campus soph team wants to create for our Off Campus First-Years: we want to encourage you to discover, dare to dream, and attempt the impossible. In addition to the enormous amount of programming that can be attached to this theme, we feel that this theme is creative, imaginative and rolls off the tongue. (Just say “DiscoverOC” a few times. Sounds like “Discovery” after a little while, right?)