Morningside University officially kicked off the 2025–2026 academic year by welcoming its largest freshman class in school history—426 new Mustangs. The campus has been buzzing with excitement as students arrived for move-in day, jumped into orientation activities, and settled into their first week of classes.
With such a large group of newcomers, campus support programs like the WOO Crew and Peer Mentors have been especially active. The WOO Crew—short for Welcome Orientation and Organization Crew—spent the first few days helping freshmen move in, guiding them across campus, and making sure they felt at home. Their enthusiastic energy was hard to miss as they cheered on students and families alike.
Alongside them, the Peer Mentor Program is already playing a key role in helping students adjust to college life. Each mentor, an upperclassman familiar with Morningside, supports a small group of freshmen throughout the semester. Whether it’s answering practical questions like “Who do I talk to if I need to change classes?” or clarifying dining basics such as “What are flex points?”, mentors ensure new students have someone to turn to during this exciting transition.
Starting college can feel overwhelming, but Peer Mentoring is here to remind freshmen that they’re not alone—there’s always someone here to help. When talking to Stacie Hays, Vice President for University Engagement, she said that “We want the Peer Mentors to really get to know their students and help them join activities as well as respond to the weekly messages that every Peer Mentor sends out.”
Weekly messages range from things like “Hey! Reminder that we have a three day weekend coming up.” or “Hey everyone! Hope you all had a great first week of school!” No matter what the message says, it is there to show that the freshman can reach out to their Peer Mentors if they have any questions or concerns.
Katie Koithan, Head of Student Experience and Retention Coordinator, said “That having the freshman be in the same CIC Class as their Peer Mentor group is really nice, plus it gets people to know each other from different Majors.” WOO Crew and Peer Mentor have done a great job this year with the biggest class!
Between the record-breaking freshman class, the guidance of WOO Crew and Peer Mentors, and the energy of a new school year, Morningside is off to a strong start.
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