Premier Scholars Program had its first outing to Naper Settlement since COVID-19. Typical, Premier Week is in person and provides experiences to explore the college and its surrounding areas. However, with the ongoing pandemic, Premier Week has had to go virtual. The last two Premier Week sessions have been online, and this outing will be the first event to be both in-person and outside of the campus.
Naper settlement activities
Naper Settlement sets up every year areas with different activities. They have food and drinks people can buy including Apple Cider and donuts. The different attractions include the haunted houses which have a rating system of fright factors. Ranging from scary, creepy and the least scary for fun. The no-wait attractions include performers ranging from sword swallowing to fire shows. Banda also play right when people walk in.
The Premier Scholars got to go into Haunted Houses like Harry Potter, The Mummies Tomb, H.H Holmes and got to run through the zombie maze.
In general, the Naper settlement is a great place for students to learn the history of Naperville. Residence of Naperville can get in for free, and enjoy the interactive historical events.
Premier Scholars pre-COVID
Premier Scholars Program is for incoming students to help with knowing about resources on campus, building a social network and helping with the transition into college. This also allows students to see what it’s like to be in a college class. While also participating in workshops to help students transition to college. Mentors also do check-ins to see how students are throughout the year. Also, there are events like the All Hallows Eve event where students can participate.
Molly Whitlock, ’23, a Premier Leaders who helped organize the trip with students, tells about the excitement of seeing students. She described how important community building is for students.
“Last year [2020] was a little disappointing that we didn’t have some kind of Halloween event for Premier Scholars because I had such a great time in my first year. When I was a first year in the Premier Scholars Program, we had a Halloween party,” says Whitlock.
Julia De Guzman, ’23, a Premier Leader who helped plan the event, describes how different Premier was pre-pandemic.
“Events like Premier Halloween were some of the informal events with just our program and we can relax and leave academics behind for a bit. When I was in the Premier Scholars Program, I was excited for interacting with people I met that summer and connecting with the other Premier Team Leaders that I bonded with in the campus setting,” says De Guzman
Stephania Rodriguez, Assistant Director of Multicultural Affairs, speaks on behalf of Premier Scholars and the impact it has on students.
“Getting the opportunity to organize these types of events can be meaningful and impactful as the Premier Scholars continue to build relationships on campus,” says Rodriguez.
