2026 Fall Welcome
Twenty-six METRIC scholars and seven program personnel came together on September 5, 2026, for the 2026 METRIC Fall Welcome at California State University, Long Beach. Activities took place throughout the Student Recreation and Wellness Center and the FA2 ceramics facilities, creating a full day of connection, learning, physical activity, reflection, and creativity.
The morning began with a program welcome that introduced new scholars, celebrated student and faculty accomplishments, and shared important program updates for the year ahead. Scholars then participated in a communication activity designed to demonstrate how easily information can be interpreted in different ways. Working in pairs, one person received a pre-drawn image and described it verbally while the other attempted to reproduce the image without seeing the original. Comparing the resulting drawings generated plenty of laughter while also illustrating a serious lesson: effective communication depends on clarity, careful listening, attention to detail, and opportunities to check for shared understanding.
The program then shifted to financial wellness. Mathematics scholar Lucy Cummings shared experiences from her internship with Northwestern Mutual and introduced fellow scholars to principles of financial planning. Drawing on what she had learned through her internship, Lucy discussed practical ways college students can begin thinking about budgeting, saving, financial goals, and long-term financial well-being.
Physical wellness and community building were next on the agenda. Scholars, faculty mentors, and program personnel moved to the Mac Gym, where they spent approximately an hour playing pickleball and volleyball. The activities offered an informal setting for scholars and mentors to interact, try something new, and simply enjoy being active together.
Afterward, the group transitioned to FA2, where catered lunches from Mendocino Farms were served in the open space outside the art galleries. Scholars, mentors, and program personnel spent the lunch hour socializing and reconnecting before regrouping to share highlights from their summer experiences and accomplishments.
The afternoon concluded with a hands-on ceramics workshop led by Assistant Professor Tia Santana and student assistants from the ceramics program. Participants rotated through parallel experiences in wheel throwing and hand-building with clay. For many scholars and faculty mentors, the workshop offered an opportunity to step outside familiar STEM modes of thinking and engage in an artistic process that required patience, observation, coordination, experimentation, and a willingness to learn through imperfection. The experience was both humbling and joyful, reminding participants that creativity, persistence, and problem solving extend well beyond disciplinary boundaries.
Throughout the day, the Fall Welcome was designed to:
- strengthen camaraderie and a sense of belonging within the METRIC community;
- increase awareness of program and campus resources;
- provide strategies that support communication, financial well-being, physical wellness, and stress management;
- create meaningful in-person opportunities for scholars to build relationships with discipline mentors and peers;
- encourage scholars and mentors to learn from one another's experiences;
- share important program information and expectations; and
- cultivate lifelong habits of mind and habits of life that support success in college, careers, and beyond.
More than an orientation, the 2026 METRIC Fall Welcome created space for scholars and mentors to connect, move, reflect, create, and learn together—strengthening the relationships and sense of community that will support them throughout the coming academic year.
Event Photos
