For all of our branches, the COVID-19 pandemic led to an early cancellation of weekly sessions in March. While we all faced the unknown, the question of how to move forward with WYSE WEEK, our annual celebration of the WYSE mission and community change, quickly moved into conversations for how to help mentors, mentees, and alumni feel engaged in these unprecendented times. Thanks to a group of WYSE mentors leading the committee, we were able to embrace a theme focused around growth and preparation on what is to come.
Annual WYSE Week celebrations kicked off from April 13 - 17, with a focus on virtual connections. Here are a few highlights from what we saw across social media!
From WYSE at George Washington University in DC:
"During WYSE week, GW WYSE tried to engage as much as we could using social media. GW having a variety of students across the world, well represented in WYSE, we had to accommodate for our timezone differences. We started off the week with an Instagram bingo and fill in the blank activity just to keep the spirit going. Seeing almost everyone participate and tag each other on personal social media not only spread a lot of WYSE love but also got the name of the organization introduced to the GW community.
We then collaborated on a video describing one word that made us think of WYSE. Having fellow mentors engage in the positivities of WYSE shone a bright light away from the circumstances the world is currently under. After making a slideshow of our best highlights from the year, we encouraged mentors to shared their personal favorites on social media using the hashtag, and possibly talk about how they have grown wiser (WYSEr) over the years.
More than just a social media effort, GW WYSE had a group zoom bonding to come together and share the WYSE week spirit. Having the org assemble together for the first time in a month gave us the opportunity to check-in as a family and support each other. Inspired by WYSE Marquette, we finished off the week with a shout out to our graduating senior/executive director Lauren Hajus, who has put forth immense effort to keep GW WYSE the successful org it is today on GW campus. Under the circumstances, WYSE week was extremely successful and it could not have been done without the efforts of the GW community and mentors. The week was such an amazing time for everyone to reconnect after a month away from school and our typical routines."
Check out our Instagram Stories for a full visual recap of WYSE Week 2020: "As I Grow WYSEr".