New Toreros Met with Large Dose of Radical Hospitality

Olé Weekend Kicks Off New Academic Year at USD

Hundreds of new students trek up Torero Way and into the palm-tree adorned Eagan Plaza. As they make their way to the front entrance of the Jenny Craig Pavilion (JCP), they are enthusiastically greeted by a group of their peers — volunteer members of the Olé Team at the University of San Diego (USD). 

“Welcome! Looking good everyone,” yell out team members Virginia Brase, Loraine Trinidad and Justine Canio as the students proceed to the arena for New Student Convocation, their official greeting to the university. Brase, Trinidad and Canio are full of authentic energy, broad smiles on their faces as they give enthusiastic greetings to all members of the newest cohort, the Class of 2028. 

In turn, the new students smile and wave, some running over for a high five, a brief conversation or a simple ‘thank you’. 

The greeting is one of dozens the new students receive throughout Olé Weekend, the university’s annual orientation and move-in weekend for new and transfer students. The hospitality is a vital ingredient in student success for this group, many of whom initially stepped foot on campus — and in San Diego — days earlier. 

“The work that Olé Team has done is so crucial because it contributes so much to creating a positive and welcoming environment for the new students as they arrive on campus,” said Canio, a third-year Behavioral Neuroscience major. “We serve as the backbone, providing support and guidance to students as we share our own experiences at USD. Our commitment and enthusiasm show what it means to be part of our USD community and we are here to help them feel confident in a new home.”

In the atrium of the JCP, the students next receive a prideful auditory welcome by members of the USD Pep Band performing for passerbyers before proceeding to their seats to hear from members of the university’s administration. 

The students settle into their seats sectioned off by their specific Living Learning Communities (LLC). While their t-shirt colors vary, they all carry a common denominator. The back of every shirt reads “Fostering peace, working for justice, and leading with love.” On stage, College of Arts and Sciences Dean Noelle Norton, PhD, offers yet another welcome. 

This one is the official academic welcome, Norton says. 

“[It’s] the last before you embark on your intellectual, creative, and experiential adventure here! It is the first formal-type welcome without your family beside you.”

All of these greetings – from the official ones high atop a podium to the plethora of unofficial ones that happen during move-in, in the dining hall and within orientation meetings — are examples of Radical Hospitality. 

“Radical Hospitality is rooted in Catholic tradition and is the act of extending great effort into making people feel welcome,” says Assistant Director of Residential Administration Marguerite Sugden. “It helps establish a sense of belonging in a community. It exudes our mission and values by centering inclusivity and leading the way towards a more just world.”

More than 400 staff, student leaders and welcome team members comprised the Radical Hospitality team this year, says Sugden, who co-leads the team. Throughout the weekend and into the first week of school, team members deploy to events throughout campus, including move-in, New Student Welcome, the Mass of Welcome and a plethora of other receptions and social gatherings. 

“They show up on one of the hottest days of the year with a smile and positive energy to welcome our new students and their families or support people to campus,” Sugden says. 

The students are a vital part of the efforts. Sugden relays a story of one student worker who, after a long summer of hard work as part of the Residential Facilities team, volunteered to serve on the Welcome Team for both three-hour shifts on move-in day. 

“He simply wanted to support our newest Toreros and wanted to give back to his community,” she says. “He said to me something along the lines of ‘Miss Marguerite, I don't even care about the campus cash, I just want to help’ and my heart exploded with gratitude. This is what it means to be a USD Torero. This is what radically saying yes and showing up for each other looks like.”

USD Class of 2028 at a glance: 

• 1,450 new first-year and transfer students
• Average GPA of 4.01
• For the ninth year in a row, this class will have a higher percentage of students of color than the previous class
• More than 50% of the class identifies as a student of color, with 30% identifying as Hispanic
• 25% are the first in their family to attend college
• 36% are fluent in a language other than English
• 44% identify as Catholic, and there are 15 different faith traditions represented
• The first-year class comes from 41 states, 25 countries and 3 U.S. territories 

— Story by Matthew Piechalak, photos by Piechalak and Lauren Radack  video by Alé Delgado