Guiding with a great purpose

My senior year and the fall 2008 semester exploded onto the scene as soon as I moved into my fraternity house just four days after completing my internship in the Office of Admission (which I’m still often nostalgic about).

After two whole days of training, W&M’s orientation aides (myself included) anxiously awaited the arrival of the incoming class of 2012.  Every orientation aide (OA) is assigned one or two co-OAs, and each group is given a freshman hall to orient.  I could not have been assigned a better partner in crime.   On move-in day Katherine and I, clad in our bright yellow OA shirts and sweet, pink Botetourt Complex sunglasses, blasted music on Fauquier 3rd Upper hall as our freshman guys arrived.

We spent the next four days getting to know the guys of F3U, introducing them to other freshmen halls, and taking them to all of their orientation info sessions and activities.

On the left is a picture of all of us while the guys are waiting to take their Honor Pledge in the Wren Building.  This was our less serious pose.  By the end of Orientation, the guys were calling me and Katherine “Mom and Dad” and even presented us with “W&M Mom” and “W&M Dad” items from the school bookstore.

At the end of Orientation and right after classes start, the OAs take their freshmen hall to Opening Convocation where our guys received their “Class of 2012” buttons and walked through the Wren Building to be greeted by cheering upperclassmen on the other side.  The picture on the right is all of us looking pretty spiffy before the ceremony.

Katherine and I saw our boys all around campus during the semester, and we also took them on a ghost tour with another freshman hall.  We are anticipating many “family reunions” next semester, and I can’t wait!