Orientation!

For the past two years I have had the incredible opportunity to come back to campus about 4 days early to prepare for one of my most favorite WM traditions: freshman orientation.

Freshmen orientation is a five day adventure that takes the freshmen through different mixers with boys and girls halls, sex and alcohol and diversity sessions, and other hall bonding activities. It is a total whirlwind of games like trainwreck and volleyball, discussions, name games, and all together fun. I like to call it “Camp WM.” It also helps to get the freshmen ready for classes, get them familiar with campus and their academic advisors, and helps them make new friends. When I was a freshman I was so thankful for my freshmen orientation because I didn’t know anyone at WM. I was lucky enough to have orientation aides who were super involved in the process and made me really want to get into it as well. I was instantly bonded with my hallmates, and felt like I was placed in a safe and welcoming community from the get go. We had cheers for our dorm, (Barrett, BALLIN!), and also did mixers with different floors and people all over campus. Some of my best guy friends came from a mixer we did during orientation, and I am so happy to still have their friendship. After orientation was over I knew it was something that I had to get involved in.

In the spring of my freshman year I applied to be an OA and was fortunate enough to become a PFOA. Being a PFOA was awesome. We got to make up cheers, campus wide mixers, and mingle and answer worried parents’ questions. It was a totally incredible experience. Being a tour guide, I love talking to parents and answering their questions. I felt like I was really capable to do so and that my training by my great OAD’s had served me well! This year, my junior year, I got to have a freshman hall in Yates. I was the OA for Yates first south, and had a total blast. My co-OA and I had boys who we were a little nervous about it at first. They were all so cool, but at first they weren’t into our name games, or excited about the cheers like we were. I will never forget looking at my co and thinking, “rut roh…what are we going to do!?” So, my co and I just got even MORE into the whole orientation process. We cheered more, got them amped up to go to different events and mixers, especially when we promised there would be girls there. Then, like magic, within hours we had them cheering and super involved in the discussions. Even guys who you would never expect to cheer were cheering! It was so cool to be able to say to everyone, “yeah that’s my hall!” The guys were really fantastic and I hope that I was able to give them a good experience and start to freshman year.

Orientation is so important to me because it really is the first introduction into your college experience. I love this school more than I can say and I try to show that in my actions and the activities I am involved in every day. So, when I decided to get involved in orientation I wanted to be able to do so to show the new freshmen and parents just how wonderful this school is. I wanted to open up all the possibilities that I know about to as many people as possible. I wanted the freshmen who are on the hall I was the OA for to get involved and fall in love with this little corner of history as much as I have.  My co-OA and I still take them out to dinner and hang out with them, and I know that the two of us will hopefully be able to be like their mentors through their freshman year. It was an incredible, humbling, and all together amazing experience that I think any and everyone should get involved in if they love WM!