Alumni Say "Bon Voyage' to New UW Students at Sendoff Celebrations

August 2009

Badgers everywhere are celebrating and welcoming new Badgers into the fold. Once again, alumni in WAA chapters across the nation were successful in helping students and their families begin their college experience at UW-Madison.

This summer, approximately 25 WAA chapters greeted more than 2,800 incoming students at Badger Student Sendoff Celebrations, where alumni hosted picnics or tailgate parties and taught students about UW traditions, such as how to sing time-honored songs like “On Wisconsin” and “Varsity.” Incoming students also had the chance to meet fellow newcomers before classes began, and parents met other students’ families.

Here are just two stories about these successful events.

Have you attended a Badger Sendoff Celebration in your area? Log in at the end of this page and leave your comments about the fun!

A HUGE SUCCESS! On Sunday, August 9, St. Louis area alums, current UW students and their parents came to meet and support the first-year UW students and their parents. A grand total of 85 attendees filled a large private room in Llywelyn’s Pub.

Both students and parents had fun and learned more about the University of Wisconsin while competing for prizes by playing UW Trivia. Much information was shared while enjoying a Wisconsin-style tailgate lunch. Two of the new students, Carol Simpson and Thomas Stava, were introduced as recipients of the 2009 Gateway Badger Scholarship Awards.

The event closed with a songfest that included “A Few of My Favorite Things – Madison Style” sung by The Gateway Voices, a new group that is sure to be a hit in St. Louis. The students also learned to sing several traditional Badger songs.

— WAA: Gateway Badgers Chapter

With more than 175 people attending the 2009 WAA: Twin Cities Chapter's Badger Sendoff Celebration, we officially have sent off the incoming freshmen and they are ready for Madison.

The WAA: Twin Cities Chapter hosted its Badger Sendoff Celebration on Sunday, August 2, at Highland Park Pavilion in St. Paul, Minnesota. Attendees included approximately 60 first-year students and their parents/guests, who enjoyed Subway sandwiches, chips, cookies and sodas.

The event started out with a warm welcome from Deb Nelson from the WAA. Then we heard from Better Bus, which provides student transportation services from the Twin Cities to Madison, which gave away two free, one-way tickets as raffle items.

The freshmen then heard from eight young alumni and current students, who did an exceptional job in telling their Madison stories and relating their experiences from their first year. They also answered questions from the inquisitive students (with the aid of some prompting of questions by the board).

Students took part in Badger Bingo, which helped them meet fellow classmates by asking questions to find others who were born in the same month or were planning on having the same major.

Students were then broken apart from the parents and other guests to part take in some ice-breaker games, including the Name Game, the Human Knot and the Screamer. While the students were playing games, parents partook in a Q&A session with three gracious volunteer parents of young alumni and current UW students.

The evening ended with door prizes donated by campus-area businesses, including gift certificates for Bucky’s Locker Room and Underground Printing/Sconnie Nation. Overall, it was a great evening with a lot of fun for the new Badgers and their parents.

Twenty-three volunteers (including the student panel) of the WAA: Twin Cities Chapter assisted in running this event, and it could not have been done without them. It’s exciting to see so many volunteers who want to give back and are SO excited for the incoming freshmen! We couldn’t be more pleased to have 700 area students going to Madison this year! On Wisconsin!

— Janna Bross ‘01, Vice President, WAA: Twin Cities Chapter