From The Hungry Cat Food Truck to academic advising and sibling programming, this summer’s Bobcat Student Orientations were revamped to improve the student and family experience.
“If I would have never (gone) to orientation in person, I don't think my Bobcat experience would have been as good as it has been,” Rylee Williams, a freshman studying journalism, said.
Williams attended orientation with her parents who pushed her into stepping out of her comfort zone and making connections.
“Since my parents were there it was easier for me to put myself out there,” Williams said. “Once me and my parents separated from each other, and I had to do it on my own, it was making me realize that I'm starting college and this is how it’s actually going to be.”
Many students shared the experience of having guests with them on campus in addition to their parents and guardians. Around 150 siblings came to campus throughout the month to partake in the Bobcat experience.
“We also, last summer, piloted a sibling orientation program for younger siblings, and this year we expanded that to orientation dates for first-year students,” Vincent Prior, director of undergraduate orientation programs, said.
The program allowed siblings in grades six through 12 to attend an admissions session, visit the Kennedy Museum and speak with the Office of Global Opportunities.
“They kind of do their own thing during orientation, which allows the parents or guardians to really focus on their content, and they get something that's a little more fun," Prior said.
BSO is geared to highlight the key points of the college experience such as connecting with peers, living in residence halls and scheduling courses for the semester.
Nearly 4,800 students attended BSO this summer and despite being short-staffed with only 36 undergraduate orientation leaders, the 12 sessions of programming in June were successful.
“We partner with pretty much everyone on campus,” Prior said. “Nothing that we do can be done just (by) us.”
The orientation team collaborates with university entities such as Culinary Services, all academic colleges and Housing and Residence Life to pull off the day-and-a-half orientation sessions.
“It's definitely challenging to coordinate all the moving pieces, but we have a strong sense of community in terms of the faculty and staff who work with orientation across campus, and everyone knows how important this is,” Prior said.
BSO serves as students' first full immersion into what it feels like to be on campus overnight.
“This is the first big step after they've said, ‘Yes, I'm coming here,’ and they’ve committed to us as a new student,” Prior said.
A big factor in easing the transition from high school to college is the orientation leaders students have the opportunity to connect with.
“We only spent one month of our time (as orientation leaders),” Demi Ward, a junior studying sociology and criminology, said. “I feel like if that's all it takes to make someone feel welcome to the university, I feel like that's more than enough.”
Orientation leaders have the unique opportunity to share their experiences with a large number of students before the academic year begins.
“Once I stepped out of my comfort zone, everything went well for me,” Ward said. “I made sure to emphasize to them that change is uncomfortable, so if you're feeling uncomfortable, you're probably on the right track.”
Looking ahead to next year, the department plans to continue enhancing guest-based programming to ensure the orientation sessions are well-rounded for all members of the Bobcat family.
“We're going to continue most of what we did in the last two years for students, but now it's time to really focus on our family and guests program,” Prior said. “That's one of the big changes we're looking forward to this year.”
