More than 450 new engineering students—from as far away as Vancouver and China to as close by as Philadelphia and Baltimore—came together to celebrate the start of their Hopkins journey through “Meet The Flock,” the Whiting School of Engineering’s undergraduate orientation program. Now in its second year, the day-long program, held on August 20 on the Homewood campus, is dedicated to equipping the incoming freshman class with the study strategies, faculty support, and student networks needed to thrive at Hopkins.
The energy was electric as students filled Shriver Hall—laughing, chatting, and snapping photos on their phones. A 3D “selfiescape” featuring campus landmarks, like Maryland Hall and Hopkins blue jays quickly became a favorite backdrop, with staff and students capturing the moment.
The day officially opened with a welcome from Ed Schlesinger, the Benjamin T. Rome Dean of the Whiting School of Engineering.
“You are a Hopkins engineer now,” Schlesinger said. “You all belong here.”
The “Hold the Cold” activity served as the perfect ice breaker, tasking students with engineering and demonstrating ice packs designed for use by specific characters—such as Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants and Vegeta IV from Dragon Ball Z. Students rose to the challenge through teamwork and innovation.
“We had one of our teammates do a cartwheel with the ice-pack on his back [to test it out],” said Grace Wu, an applied mathematics and statistics major.
Throughout the day, students—some with clear career goals, others still exploring, and many with passions ranging from DJing to food culture—took part in “Meet Your Mentor” sessions, discussing their passions and spilling questions about the school, all the city of Baltimore has to offer, and more. A “Meet the Flock” card game created by Constanza Miranda, an associate teaching professor in biomedical engineering and assistant dean for faculty undergraduate mentoring, helped the students loosen up by identifying similarities between themselves and faculty mentors.
The students then attended “Mentorability,” a workshop that provided guidance on effective practices for mentees. The session covered key strategies, including mapping their existing professional networks, maintaining effective communication with faculty mentors via email, and the importance of building those relationships early in their academic careers.
Bailey Surtees, Engr’ 17, CEO and founder of Kubanda Cryotherapy—a Baltimore startup that provides minimally invasive tumor treatment for pets—talked to the students about the importance of creating community on campus.
“The clubs and the families that are the clubs at Hopkins are a very special place and a special part of the Hopkins experience,” she said.
The day closed on the Decker Quadrangle (known as the “Engineering Quad”) with the students grabbing their swag.
William Forster, a computer science major, said, “Meet the Flock has made me feel like a real engineer. Diving into the fall semester, I feel more prepared for someone who wasn’t so sure about engineering, now I’m definitely more excited.”