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O, what a week for UNE students

February 21, 2005

Gulliford Family 0007.jpgTamworth parents David and Cheryl Gulliford made a welcome return to the University of New England today (February 21) to help their son Sam start his studies.
The Gullifords (pictured, with daughter Georgia) are both UNE graduates and were just two of more than 150 parents who escorted their offspring to UNE for Orientation Week, or O Week.
Organised to help undergraduates familiarise themselves with the university, O Week runs until Friday, February 25 and offers an array of activities to freshers.
Proceedings officially began with a Welcome by Professor Peter Flood, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Research and Development).
He told about 1000 students how he had been an undergraduate at UNE more than 40 years ago, choosing a life of academe and returning to UNE as a lecturer 25 years ago after working at five other universities.
Master of Ceremonies at the welcome, Andrew St John Brown, encouraged undergraduates to embrace university life while student representative Samantha Aber spoke briefly about what undergraduates might expect at UNE and some of the opportunities afforded them.

The welcome was followed by a Q&A for parents, with more than 200 mums and dads asking a panel of experts dozens of education-related questions, many concerned about the Higher Education Contribution Scheme (HECS).
For the Gullifords, it was a welcome innovation from the time they spent at UNE.
“It is just so good to see the support available and the many facilities open to students,” Mr Gulliford, a Technical Officer with the NSW Department of Primary Industries, said.
He was an external student at UNE, graduating in 1991 while wife Cheryl graduated in 1976. Both were awarded BAs.
Son Sam, 18, has opted for a Bachelor of Rural Science (BRurSc) and will live in St Albert’s College during his studies.
Mrs Gulliford said she was thrilled he had chosen UNE because it had a good educational reputation and was a safe place to study.
Local band The Looks gave a free concert in the Central Courtyard after the Official Welcome while a series of free bus tours took Parents and Friends on a journey across campus, including the refurbished Sport UNE (with its heated swimming pool) and eight colleges (as well as Wright Village).
Barbecues, sausage sizzles and other entertainment kept the campus alive throughout the day and more is promised later in the week.
O Week culminates in enrolment on Wednesday (February 23) in Lazenby Hall with a Fresher’s Ball held in the UNE Union at night.
The week concludes with an Intercollegiate Swimming Carnival at Sport UNE.
For more information phone Lydia Roberts on 6773 2779.


Posted by Lydia Roberts at February 21, 2005 02:56 PM