ASU Online graduates take part in welcome reception on campus

This semester, more than 3,000 ASU Online students graduated from ASU. About 1,500 of those students made the journey to Phoenix from around the globe and participated in a welcome reception hosted by ASU Online.

Students got to meet their success coaches and classmates, and participate in cap decorating and campus tours. At the event, a large map was revealed where students could put a pin on where they traveled from, showcasing that ASU Online students come from all around the world.

For a lot of students, this event meant getting to meet their success coaches for the first time, who helped guide them throughout their college journey. ASU Online criminology and criminal justice student Wilson Peng, got to meet his Success Coach, Felecia O’Neal.

“My success coach is like my best friend who tells it like it is. Felecia and I talk on the phone weekly and will exchange emails or chat on Pitch throughout the week. We talk about how I’m doing in classes, connecting to different campus resources, my personal life and big decisions I'm making, like choosing a career,” Peng said.

As the day continued to unfold, many other meetings took place for the first time. Coaches, financial aid advisers, executive staff and other ASU staff met the students they worked closely with to support throughout their college career.

Meanwhile, dozens of ASU Online College of Public Service and Community Solutions graduates gathered at the Carson Student-Athlete complex to meet their professors and advisors too.

“The whole thing was amazing,” said Tricia Houghtaling, who earned her master’s degree in social work and came to the reception with her husband Pete. “I was very blessed to have amazing field instructors and did two wonderful internships at a hospice placement before this one.”

The ASU Online welcome reception will continue to remain a tradition so online students can create meaningful relationships and close out their ASU experience, before setting forth into the next chapter of their lives.

Read the full story of the welcome reception at ASU News.