University of California, Merced
EN-2: Student Orientation

Each fall new students attend the Ascend New Student Success Conference which includes a number of sustainability-related topics, such as Rethink Recycling and The Benefits of Joining a Professional Engineering Organization (including Engineers for a Sustainable World). Campus leaders at other presentations throughout the day reference sustainability in the context of wellness and its importance to our campus. Sustainability leaders from campus such as the Recycling Coordinator guide a sustainable lunch experience. All the food is locally sourced and sustainably grown. All of the waste is diverted to compost or recycling, and the attendees play an active role in making this happen. Additionally, the campus began the Transcend student transfer program last year, which is a student orientation program designed for transfer students. Prior to Transcend, transfer students participated in the Ascend program.