If tuition included a personal tour guide, navigating a new school would be simple. Fortunately, new Gators can benefit from the next best thing.
The ninth annual UF Ask Me campaign kicked off Sunday and will continue through Tuesday.
The campaign, sponsored by the UF divisions of Business Affairs, Student Affairs and Human Resources, offers help at residence halls during check-in and other campus locations to help make the first days on campus less confusing for new students.
"Navigating the bus schedule and routes was a daunting task," said journalism freshman Sara Solano. "A figure to answer questions like that for new students, such as myself, is certainly beneficial to UF campus life."
Campaign volunteers can be found around various parts of UF, beneath banners and in orange T-shirts with an Ask Me logo.
"The primary targets are new students to campus, which include freshmen, transfer students and new graduate students," said Sharon Blansett, assistant director of housing for research and organizational development at UF.
Not much has changed since last year's program, Blansett said.
Sunday, staff and student leaders drove around campus distributing bottled water and meeting and greeting parents and students.
Bottled water, campus maps and RTS bus schedules will be distributed to students as part of the Ask Me campaign today and Tuesday, she said.
The campaign is part of the One Team initiative-a project bringing together staff from across campus to provide focused and engaged customer service to all students.
"The One Team initiative is about working as a team campus wide," Blansett said. "On a campus as large and diverse as UF, we are committed to reaching out and welcoming our newest members."
Freshman biology major Carly Dworkin said the campus quickly gets less daunting with time.
"Getting used to the campus is a little confusing at first, but once you walk around a few times, it gets much easier," she said.
