Welcome Week Treasure Hunt: Navigating Campus and Building Community

Welcome Week is the most exciting time of the academic year. The campus is alive with a mixture of nerves and hopes for the year ahead. Every member of staff looks forward to welcoming our incoming students and the joy that their presence provides.

This is the third year that I have facilitated our treasure hunt for new Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology students. In 2023/24, students braved the pouring rain and in the 2024/25, students perched in giant deck chairs basking in the sun.

This year, 20 students braved the pouring rain again.

In all of my professional roles (including Staff-Student Liaison Committee Chair, Student Engagement Lead and Widening Participation Lead for the Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, NSS Lead and member of the Curriculum 2027 Development and Implementation Group) I have interests in community and belonging, accessibility and inclusivity, and making the university a welcoming and supportive space. I am particularly interested in building belonging within the curriculum, which I wrote about with Professor Lisa Anderson for Wonke and for Times Higher Education.

Welcome Week is our shared opportunity as educators and professional services staff to set the bar high so that students feel wanted and cared for on campus, as discussed in From Crisis to Community: Engaging Students in Post-pandemic Classrooms. First impressions matter. If we want engagement in our classrooms it starts with Welcome Week, and indeed with the pre-welcome work that many colleagues put in over the summer and early September through discovery days and transition activities.

As I wrote with Treasa Kearney for the Times Higher Education, campus is a treasured space and in the post-pandemic period we must engage with the re-building literature.

The sector needs to address student isolation and loneliness with a focus on building community and fostering belonging. As Hodgson and Austen argue in What Works for Supporting Student Access and Success When There’s No Money, ‘mattering’ still matters. Many of the ways in which we can make students feel wanted and valued are free.

Here at the University of Liverpool, we have a magnificent campus and excellent opportunities for students to meet others, engage with services and thrive in their studies. We know students are more likely to engage if they receive peer support early on. The treasure hunt encourages students to work in small groups, though the option to work independently is always available. For accessibility reasons we acknowledge that not all students will be able to move around campus, and we facilitate online alternatives for students with energy-limiting health conditions.

Short exercises like treasure hunts familiarise students with new spaces and reduce anxiety during their first weeks of study. They also provide a chance to meet new friends and peers in a low-pressure environment while problem-solving together. We showcase the extensive campus and many opportunities, and we demonstrate how much support is available. We want students to know they are not alone.

About the author

Dr Gemma Ahearne is a Senior Lecturer in Criminology, Staff-Student Liaison Committee Chair and Student Engagement Lead for the University of Liverpool Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology, Widening Participation Lead, NSS Lead and a member of the Curriculum 2027 Development and Implementation Group. 

Please contact Gemma with any potential collaborations: Gemma.ahearne@liverpool.ac.uk.