How will you serve your new community?

Columbia Urban Experience (CUE) is a week-long pre-orientation program, held August 23rd - August 30th that introduces incoming first-year Columbia College, School of Engineering and Applied Science, Barnard College, and GS/JTS Joint Program students to community service opportunities throughout New York City.

Connect with your community.

VOLUNTEER during the week with one of ten sites, such as the Harlem YMCA, Project ACHIEVE, and Gods Love We Deliver. Each site is chosen to familiarize and expose CUE-ers with the social needs of New York City and its inhabitants. CUE-ers volunteer with 3-5 other first-years and one leader everyday. CUE also emphasizes “service learning” through nightly dinner discussions and a panel of prominent New York City service leaders and activists.

Connect with your city.

EXPLORE New York. Every night, CUE-ers select from one of four amazing options and travel throughout the city on free night activities. CUE-ers see New York’s best attractions from outdoor movies in Bryant Park, Harlem Bowling Lanes, the Nuyorican Poets Café, Yankees Games, to the Brooklyn Bridge. CUE-ers end the week with our infamous Scavenger Hunt which takes you through all five boroughs.

Connect with your class.

MEET fellow classmates that share common interests and develop bonds that will last far beyond the duration of the week. Participants in the program live together in an upper-classmen residence hall on-campus with CUE leaders. CUE provides an intimate setting in which new students form friendships with each other as well as with the upperclassmen leaders.