Welcome Week at Grand Canyon University has continued its transformation from a burst of move-in excitement to a sustained bonanza with added events from more University departments throughout a 10-day period, Aug. 29 to Sept. 7.

One visible difference will be a large, centrally located plaza of information, treats and fun called Pop-Ups on the Promenade, where more than 30 campus departments will line up from the Student Union to Building 16 to welcome students from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Another will be a roaming band of 600 student enthusiasm-injectors, also known as the Welcome Crew, to direct traffic, cheer and welcome new students by name and make them feel at home. Since transitioning to move-in by appointment during the pandemic, the crew was created to sustain the excitement once central to the mass move-in.

They are part of the nearly 1,800 volunteers, which also include the Student Affairs team and student leaders, all led by Welcome Programs to help new students feel welcome in a big way and excite returning students for the new year.

“As our department has framed Welcome Week as more than just move-in, each year we see more departments wanting to be involved, host an event and get in front of students,” said Alden Sia, Welcome Programs Manager.

“We want the schedule to be packed. We want them to take advantage of the time parents are here and students are learning where everything is.”

The schedule is packed with more events than ever throughout the day across the growing campus, which will welcome a record number of new students, approximately 9,700.

Each day features a large evening event, such as Friday night’s Lope-A-Palooza, a raucous pep rally in GCU Arena that this year will spill out into the Quad with athletes to meet and treats to eat.

A new evening event this year is First Monday, when students will be on the Quad selling their creations and items from their businesses.

“We wanted to give students the opportunity to interact more, and we have seen that students love student markets,” Sia said. “They bring cookies, clothes or bracelets they make. It’s an opportunity for students to show their passion.”

Popular events such as Silent Disco on…