Highly Engaging Virtual Orientation Programs with Swift Kick
Raise your hand if you have no idea what the future holds! ….. ….. Oh, sorry, I couldn’t keep typing because both my hands were raised. If you’re like me, your heart has been beating extra fast because you really can’t process the sheer uncertainty of the next few weeks, months, or even the next […]
Orientation Leaders Should Be Modeling Success at Orientation
Being an orientation leader isn’t easy. It’s early mornings, late nights, and long days. I know, I was one in college. Despite the massive amount of energy needed to be an OL, OLs should never stop modeling the best type of behavior at any moment throughout orientation and beyond, for several reasons: 1) Freshman are […]
The Importance of Orientation Leaders for Nervous New Students
There was a student at the orientation I was working that came off as pretty shy and quiet. It wasn’t that he was uninterested because he kept looking over at a group of the orientation leaders, but he didn’t quite have the courage to approach us. It was easiest for me to approach the student and […]
The Friends You Make In Your First Year are… Different
As I was running down the ramp to attempt to barely make a train at Grand Central, another woman was running beside me. The doors of the train closed before we reached them, and we both just stopped, disappointed. Suddenly the doors popped back open and we both went “OH!!” and started running again to […]
Putting “Open Doors, Open Hearts” to Work at Orientation
Walking into the next orientation was always a nerve-wracking experience. The orientation leaders’ heads were filled with questions such as “Which student is going to give me a hard time?” and “What happens if I can’t convince them to participate?” In OL training, we were prepared for these students. We were told what to say […]
Finding the Good in Others- How I Found My Place
“Have you thought about applying to be an orientation leader?” was the unexpected question I received in an elevator from my RA. I quickly shook my head and shrugged it off. I was a timid first year in college and didn’t see how I could be an orientation leader. The RA, Oshane (pictured below), explained that […]
Creating a Welcoming Culture – The Orientation Moment I Won’t Forget
Hey SK family! Sabina here, and today I am reminiscing on my Orientation at Fordham University. I was a big-eyed, unsure but excited freshman. Ready for my new adventure at my dream school, but aware of my inexperience, I remember walking into an alcohol ed session one evening of orientation. I entered the big room […]
Dance Floor Theory In Living Color [IMAGE]
While at Fordham University doing a training for their Orientation Leaders, I noticed, right from the beginning, one student with his head down. He kept his head down the whole time and almost never made eye contact with me. I figured he was either studying, autistic, or just straight up didn’t care what I was […]