Your HPU career is about to begin! In honor of 1924 – the year HPU was founded – we’ve compiled a list of 24 things every Panther can look forward to in their first year at HPU:
1. Get excited for the First-Year Seminar on Life Skills with President Qubein and Friends!
That’s right, the president of HPU teaches a class for all freshmen! This weekly seminar will help you develop your fiscal literacy, time management skills, effective communication, leadership abilities and much more. You’ll benefit personally and professionally from Dr. Qubein’s success as an entrepreneur and consultant to CEOs. The seminar also includes sessions with global leaders who serve in residence at HPU, such as Russell Weiner, CEO of Domino’s and HPU’s Corporate Executive in Residence.
2. Have lunch with your Success Coach
As a freshman, your Success Coach serves as an academic advisor, life coach, university liaison and activities coordinator. They can help you register for classes, guide the process of transitioning to college life and connect you with clubs, intramural sports and other campus activities, as well as with other faculty, staff and peer mentors. But you won’t just find them in their office. They’re always out and about on campus, hosting food truck round-ups and meeting students — so they can point you to some of HPU’s fan-favorite lunch spots.
3. Get involved in Campus Activities Team (CAT) events
The Office of Student Engagement plans a calendar jam-packed with fun, exciting and complimentary opportunities. Every week, you can enjoy Campus Activities Team (CAT) events, such as the Meet Your Neighbor Event that kicks off the year with Residence Life and provides the opportunity to meet those who live in and around your residential community. Other CAT activities to get involved in throughout the year include Fall and Spring Carnivals, lip-sync battles, Paint-a-Palooza, karaoke and venture trips off campus to different places like Top Golf. You can also find upcoming events through the HPU Connect platform.
4. Attend an HPU Basketball game or concert in the Qubein Arena
Show your Panther pride by cheering on HPU’s Division I Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams in the Nido and Mariana Qubein Arena and Conference Center. Throughout the year, you’re going to want to support all 17 of our Division 1 athletic teams. Just like you, they are winners — with 13 Conference Championships last year! Even beyond basketball, the arena is a hub of activity and events. Attend major concerts from artists like Train, Jesse McCartney, J. Cole and more!
5. Visit the Office of Career and Professional Development
Career development begins when you arrive on campus as a freshman and continues throughout your time at HPU. It’s the reason 99% of HPU graduates are employed or in graduate school within 180 days of graduating. Through one-on-one advising sessions, a dedicated team of career advisors in the Office of Career and Professional Development will help you identify interests and strengths, and offer powerful tools and resources to assist in your journey toward a fulfilling career path. Schedule an appointment with an advisor to start your career development today.
6. Find community in a club
With 200+ clubs and organizations to choose from on campus, HPU has something for you! Kick off your first week on campus at the Campus Activities Fair, where you’ll make your first connections with organizations and clubs on campus! Whether it’s by volunteering in the local community, holding a leadership position in the Student Government Association or joining one of HPU’s 34 club sports, getting involved will make HPU feel like home, and make new friends feel like family. With so many options, you’ll never feel alone at HPU.
Visit HPU Connect for a full list of student clubs and organizations!
7. Access Innovators at HPU!
The Access to Innovators Program offers a long list of in-residence faculty that make regular campus visits. Take advantage of and be inspired by these global leaders by attending a seminar or Q&A session when they’re on campus. You may even have the chance to work one-on-one with Apple Co-Founder Steve Wozniak, HPU’s Innovator in Residence, or go to lunch with Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall, HPU’s Sports Executive in Residence. With connections like these, you’ll be well on your way to securing your dream job or internship.
8. Download these essential apps
At HPU, you’ll always have what you need at the tips of your fingers. Have a question? There’s an app for that.
- HPU Guides App: This is the official app for High Point University! Keep up with campus resources and events. You can create custom schedules and to-do lists, as well as connect with other students.
- LiveSafe App: This app empowers students to easily contact HPU Security to request assistance or report safety concerns. The app also features a variety of useful campus and emergency preparedness information.
- Rise App: With the Rise app, you can view upcoming campus activities and streamline a record of accomplishments such as joining a club, conducting undergraduate research, choosing your major and attending events.
- HPU Mobile Ordering App: Just login with your Campus ID, order and pay— no waiting in line necessary. The app will even notify you of your orders status and send a message when it’s ready to be picked up!
9. Fellowship with friends at weekly food truck events
Street tacos or mac and cheese bowls, anyone? Midweek Meet Up Food Truck events are held at a different location each week. At these weekly block parties, students enjoy free live music, meet new friends, explore their beautiful campus and try a taste of local cuisine. From BBQ to funnel cakes and more, enjoy these special meals on wheels with your friends! You can’t go wrong with any of our 21 other campus dining locations, but it’s still great to mix it up from time to time. Plus, what day isn’t better with music?
10. Eat roasted corn on Derby Day and Earth Day
Derby Day is a celebration of the start of the school year held in the fall where food, fun and games are offered on the Gene and Jane Kester International Promenade. You can enjoy roasted corn, tug-of-war, volleyball, water slides, obstacle courses and much more. Our Earth Day celebration also welcomes local vendors and organizations to share fresh and sustainable food, information about local wildlife including a petting zoo and other environmentally friendly practices. Both foster outdoor events where students can enjoy HPU’s inspiring campus, beautiful North Carolina weather and fellowship with their classmates.
11. Get involved in Greek Life
Fraternities and sororities offer exceptional opportunities for leadership development, philanthropic service and lifelong friendships! HPU is home to 17 nationally recognized fraternities and sororities operating chapters on campus that set high standards for their members to achieve. Save this link and plan to register for fall recruitment to find your fit in Greek Life!
12. Show your patriotic pride at HPU’s Annual Veterans Day Celebration
HPU is a God, family, country school that celebrates the service and sacrifice of our nation’s heroes. At the Annual Veterans Day Celebration, students, staff and faculty welcome over 1,500 local veterans and their families to honor and serve those who have served our nation. Students gift each veteran in attendance a patriotic blanket as a symbolic appreciation of the comfort veterans have secured for Americans.
This event not only makes a difference in the hearts of our nation’s heroes, but their lives, too. Through Operation K.A.R.E. and The Independence Fund, the HPU fraternity chapter of Kappa Alpha Order raises money to purchase and donate track chairs that increase mobility for wounded veterans. The fraternity presented two track chairs to veterans at HPU’s 2022 Annual Veterans Day Celebration.
13. Engage in HPU’s Religious Life offerings
Students of many traditions foster their faith at HPU, and the Chapel and Religious Life Office is here to support and encourage them.
The Charles E. Hayworth Sr. Memorial Chapel, home to the university’s weekly worship services and community events throughout the year, is a symbol of HPU’s Methodist heritage and hospitality for people of all traditions. Weekly Chapel, a Christian worship service, takes place every Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. with a message focused on college students’ lives. There is also a worship night every Sunday night at 8:00 p.m. HPU’s Catholic Campus Ministry hosts Catholic Mass on Sundays at 6 p.m. The organization also offers weekly activities and semester retreats.
Through HPU’s Hillel, Jewish students find a campus faith community. The organization hosts celebrations for all major Jewish holidays, including a Hanukkah dinner at 1924 PRIME and a Passover Seder dinner, as well as activities such as challah making and the traditional decoration of the sukkah.
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and other faiths utilize the Multifaith Prayer and Meditation Space in Hayworth Hall, and Interfaith United brings students of all walks of life together to learn from each other and hosts events such as the annual Iftar.
14. Get involved in HPU REC
With options to continue your favorite sport, pursue a new one, work out in a group setting or on your own, HPU has something for everyone.
Intramural Sports offer competitive and non-competitive programming for female, male and co-ed teams. Some of the sports offered include flag football, soccer, softball, indoor and beach volleyball, tennis, basketball, ultimate frisbee, softball, dodgeball and racquetball.
Across campus, HPU REC has five outdoor heated pools each including a 16-person Jacuzzi; nine fitness facilities; three outdoor basketball courts; and four beach volleyball courts. Group exercise classes like yoga, spinning, Zumba and a 5-week Boot Camp offer an array of fitness activities.
HPU REC hosts fun events throughout the year that support students’ social, mental and physical health. Attend HPU Recfest to get out, get moving and get to know other students on campus! Filled with free food and fun, the day features a rock-climbing wall, beach volleyball, photo booth, surfboard simulators and more. Watch these highlights a previous Recfest!
15. Discover your favorite Passport Partner
Although just about anything you’ll ever need can be found on campus, HPU students love to explore the Triad. More than 200 local businesses accept the HPU Passport card as payment. From restaurants and retail stores to gas stations, coffee shops and more, you can easily find a place for you.
16. Go ice skating
Because HPU knows that having the space to take a break keeps students motivated, you can look forward to watching areas of campus transform year-round into spaces designed to help students unwind, relax and have fun. The HPU Ice Skating Rink makes its way on to campus in the winter months, providing the perfect mix of fun, friends and frost! Other transformative additions include cozy string lit fire pits — perfect for a sweet s’mores night with your friends and igloos — dome covered seating spots located conveniently close to the best dining spots on campus.
17. Enhance your career preparation at 1924 PRIME or Alo
While some colleges provide an etiquette class during a student’s senior year, HPU provides students with four years of career preparation inside 1924 PRIME and Alo, HPU’s fine-dining learning labs. Here, students practice their interview and etiquette skills over weekly dinner beginning their freshman year. In addition, they’re exposed to a wide variety of cultural cuisines and traditions. Each month, a different region or country’s cuisine is highlighted through HPU’s Cuisine & Culture Series. Along with distinct international fares, faculty and guest speakers host forums that offer students opportunities to learn about the cultural focus of the month.
18. Find your favorite study spot on campus
There are tons of places to study, read and write on campus. One of the most popular locations is The International Student Concourse airplane in Cottrell Hall. Located next to the Cottrell Starbucks, it’s the perfect place to caffeinate and collaborate with classmates.
19. Join the Research Rookies Program
The High Point University Research Rookies Program works to incorporate students into the university’s culture of research and creative work early in their undergraduate careers. The program is designed to create a community of undergraduate scholars and help build research-related skills to prepare students for faculty collaborative projects that makes an original contribution to one’s field. Getting involved in research or creative works in college helps students build unique credentials to distinguish themselves from among the 2 million other students they will graduate among and compete with for jobs or entrance into graduate and professional schools!
20. Attend Fulldome Friday or Monday Movie Night
It’s one thing to watch a movie; it’s another to be fully immersed in it. Every Friday, the Culp Planetarium screens short feature films that are both educational and entertaining. Covering a range of topics like super volcanoes, coral reefs, dinosaurs, black holes and much more, you’ll feel immersed in the environment under the 50-foot dome with projectors and seating designed exclusively for High Point University.
You can also watch brand-new movies or your favorite throwbacks in the Bertram L. Podell Extraordinaire Cinema. Bring your HPU Passport for free entrance, popcorn, candy and soft drinks!
21. Take a picture with Prowler
It’s on every HPU Panther’s bucket list to get a picture with Prowler, the HPU mascot. If you miss him walking around on campus, you can find Prowler’s kinetic sculpture upstairs in the Qubein Arena!
22. Explore international opportunities with Global Education
As part of HPU’s general education curriculum, you must take at least one Global Studies course. If you study abroad, the Global Studies requirement is waived automatically. Whether you participate in a year, semester, Maymester or summer abroad, the Office of Global Education is here to make your international education a reality.
23. Taste and love HPU’s nationally ranked dining options
Let’s be honest: The type of food a university serves says a lot about how much it cares for students. High Point University provides all those things and more, and that’s why we’re ranked nationally for great campus food. HPU students gave HPU Dining a 99% satisfaction rate, which was the highest student satisfaction rate in the nation. The Princeton Review also ranks HPU in the Top 20 Nationally for Best Campus Food.
Whatever it is that you’re craving — from a home cooked meal to a late-night snack — more than 17 dining options on campus have got you covered. And, with the opening of the new Panther Commons, a Hibachi restaurant will soon be available!
24. Connect with faculty mentors
HPU’s smaller class sizes allows for more one-on-one engagement opportunities with faculty. The faculty at HPU are experienced and can offer students industry connections. Our faculty members act as mentors to students and every student is assigned a faculty advisor based off their major to help them navigate class requirements, find research opportunities and more! Be sure to take advantage of the mentorship available through these members of the HPU family.