Class of 2016 to Arrive for Orientation

On Wednesday, August 29, Providence College’s newest group of incoming freshmen will begin a jam-packed six days of orientation to kick off their college careers.

Although the majority of students in the Class of 2016 will move into their dorm rooms on Wednesday, some arrived earlier. On Saturday, August 25, 151 students joined the College’s Urban Action Program and spent three days volunteering at sites in Providence, Middletown, and East Greenwich.

In addition, more than 25 freshmen signed up to perform community service for organizations affiliated with the Diocese of Providence through FaithWorks, a new program this year.

Orientation officially begins with the Mass of the Holy Spirit in the Peterson Recreation Center for students and parents at 2 p.m. Wednesday.

On Thursday, students will meet in small groups to discuss The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the book selected for this year’s Freshman Common Reading Program. During their summer advising sessions, freshmen received copies of the book, which discusses how “HeLa” cells, a strain taken from Lacks, a poor woman from Baltimore who died of cervical cancer, led to major medical discoveries. The students started their discussion online.

Orientation will conclude with a trip to Newport on Labor Day, when most upperclassmen will move into campus housing. The academic year gets under way for all students officially on Tuesday, September 3, with the start of classes and Academic Convocation at 3 p.m. Dr. Charles R. Toth, associate professor of biology, will deliver the keynote address, discussing how Henrietta Lacks' cells impacted medical research and society.

For a full schedule of orientation events, go to http://www.providence.edu/orientation/Documents/Fall_Student%20Schedule%20pdf.pdf.

— Liz F. Kay