Anna Voskuil | News Editor
Victoria Silman | Assistant News Editor
Featured Image: ASK Me volunteers Matthew Raoum (left) and Raed Baker are shown during orientation. | Anna Voskuil
Orientation week can cause a lot of confusion when it comes to the ins-and-outs of student services, bringing the new ASK Me service and upcoming York International information booths to strong use.
From September 4 to 14, ASK Me — formerly YU Belong — booths will be located across campus, where ambassadors will provide direct answers to any student questions regarding registration, financial aid, course enrolment, and more.
The ambassadors can be found wearing a welcome lanyard and an ‘ASK Me’ button.
On September 4, ASK Me volunteers were helping students from 11:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., as well as ushering students from 4:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Welcome Ceremony.
“The booths are mainly for the new students arriving, because they don’t know the campus yet. We ask them what their program is, and then for each program there’s a specific place they need to go for their orientation,” says Matthew Raoum, a second-year commerce student and ASK Me volunteer
“We help direct them and tell them where to go, and if we don’t know we send them to other people where they can be assisted.”
The booths are located around campus including Vari Hall, the William Small Centre, and in front of the subway station (where you can find Raoum).
Located at the William Small Centre, you will find Raed Baker, a second-year business human resources management student and ASK Me volunteer. According to him, “it was pretty busy. A lot of people came, a lot wanted help and needed directions; we were there just to support them.”
According to Harleen Singh, a second-year public administration student and ASK Me volunteer, “it’s been really good. People are really social—they’re easy to approach.”
Alongside this service is York International, who have opened information booths around campus with upper-year international students to address the specific needs of international students starting at York.
Lillian Vo, a second-year psychology student, is located in Vari Hall along with Serafina Chen and Deepshika Nunkoo to assist international and domestic students with any questions they may have.
“We place an emphasis on international students. But it’s not strictly just for international students. For domestic students we have the transfer program, summer abroad, internships in other countries, and we also provide volunteer opportunities for them,” says Vo.
“The purpose of this booth is to assist international students and to enhance their experience, because we know they have a lot of questions and concerns that they want to address, so we’re here to answer them.”
The York International Booths can be found around campus, including the Bennett Centre, William Small Centre, Vari Hall, and Vanier College.
According to Vo: “Last year was the first time we ever did it, and it’s been successful, so that’s why we’re doing it again this year.”
