First Year Feature allows incoming students to see campus

  • Author By Lyndsie Schlink
  • July 28, 2021

Approximately 3,200 students participated in this year’s Preview activities. While the mandatory Preview sessions were moved online this year due to COVID-19, students also had the opportunity to attend one of 22 First Year Feature sessions on campus during the month of July for a half-day experience.

The First Year Feature allowed students and their family the opportunity to tour the Quad and departments in the Bone Student Center, learn about services offered to students and parents, enjoy a free lunch at the Watterson Dining Commons, get their student ID, and get a glimpse of what their residence hall might look like.  

Preview is typically a two-day, overnight experience for families and students, but due to COVID regulations earlier this year, planning for this year’s Preview sessions had to be changed to follow guidelines. Preview staff still wanted students to come to see the beautiful campus and a half day experience was the best opportunity to do just that. Below is a snapshot of what the students and their families did during their time on campus.

Group of three people walking around the Quad
Preview Guide Raven Grier Bain takes a student and his family on a tour of the Quad.
Woman in red shirt gives a tour to students and parents
Admissions Tour Guide Leiana Bolden gives a family a tour of the State Farm Hall of Business.
Student seated at a table checks in a line of families
Preview Guide Drew Starr checks in families in the Prairie Room.
Students and their families walk across the bridge over College Avenue on their way to Edwards and Schroeder Halls for the morning sessions.
Students and their families walk across the bridge over College Avenue on their way to Edwards and Schroeder Halls for the morning sessions.
Dean John Davenport welcomes the families to campus during the morning parent and family session.
Dean John Davenport welcomes the families to campus during the morning parent and family session.
Woman seated in center of a room leads a conversation of first-year students.
Preview Guide Erika Jimenez talks to students about what to expect when the move to Illinois State this fall.
Woman pets black lab dog, who is being held on a leash by a police officer.
Illinois State Police Officer Loren LaMar introduces a parent to Pawfficer Sage during the Explore ISU session that featured informational tables and open house at various offices in the Bone Student Center.
Woman talks with a group of students and their parents in front of a television screen and cardboard cutout.
Dean of Students Office Administrator Bonnie Yedinak talks to a group of students and their families about the event opportunities planned for this fall.
Man in red shirt talks to a parent and student.
Tech Zone Associate Deonté Mosley helps a student and his dad pick out a laptop.
Three women have a conversation in a dining hall.
Event Management Dining and Hospitality Services food service administrator Yelyse Walls talks to a student and their family about the dining offerings at the Watterson Dining Commons.
Students and families enjoy a free lunch at Watterson Dining Commons
Students and families enjoy a free lunch at Watterson Dining Commons
Woman explaining to a group of parents how residence halls work.
Audrey Smith, a Hewett Hall residence hall coordinator, explains how students can customize their rooms by lofting or bunking their beds to create different living spaces in their residence hall room.
A Preview guide talks to a student and their family about what departments are located in each of the buildings during a tour of campus.
Preview Guide Bryan Lopez talks to a student and their family about what departments are located in each of the buildings during a tour of campus.
Preview guide gives a group of students and families a tour of the Quad.
Preview Guide Allie Beam gives a group of students and families a tour of the Quad.

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