Starting college is a scary thing for most students. No matter how “grown up” they are or how much they think they want to leave home, they are nervous about not making friends, getting lost, sharing a room with a stranger. It can be overwhelming. 
We have a way to combat these feelings and it’s the Ursa Experience – Maroon & White Overnight, a 3-day, 2-night engagement camp that immerses your student in Missouri State. They learn traditions, explore their personal strengths and discover how to make their Missouri STATEment plus they have fun!
But if that’s not enough to convince you, here are the top 10 reasons, according to our Ursa 2015-2017 participants (called Minors), for attending Ursa:
- Make friends that last a lifetime!
- Being able to say “Remember that time at Ursa when…” with your new friends
- Learning the fight song (because no other new Bears will know it)!
- Always knowing someone on your way to class
- Starting you collection of #BearWear t-shirts
- Gain knowledge of your strengths and how you can apply those to your college career.
- Confidence booster with freshman year/makes less scary
- Opens doors for other leadership opportunities
- Great way to get involved before school starts
- Moving in early and having time to get yourself situated well in advance to classes starting
As you can see, the Ursa Minors really had a good time and they make a case for your student taking part in this new tradition! According to Megan Berry, 2016 Ursa minor, ” In my experience, coming to college was very intimidating. I was coming from a very small school, so campus seemed huge and the crowds even bigger. If it wasn’t for my experience at Ursa enabling me to make some initial connections with fellow bears, I know that I would have felt like just a face in the crowd at welcome weekend events. Because of Ursa, I was able to walk around greeting people by name and people could call me out by name. For me, that made all the difference in the world. The connections and confidence you build at Ursa don’t stay there; they follow you back and have lasting impressions on you and your time at Missouri State. Ursa was the first step in going from just a face in the crowd to being an individual in the Missouri State Community.”
Registration is now open. Financial assistance is available also. If your student wants to apply for financial assistance, have them fill out the request form FIRST before they register for Ursa. If they register first, their fee cannot be refunded. Visit the Ursa website to find out more information.
If you have questions, contact Priscilla Childress at pchildress@missouristate.edu or at (417) 836-3060.