Orientation Opens "Oceans of Opportunity" for Students
by Laura Walikainen
The 2001 Orientation program
focuses on a creative theme with new features while continuing to help
students adapt to University life.
"We tried to tie all aspects
of our program into this year's theme, which is Oceans of Opportunity,"
said Bonnie Gorman, director of new student orientation and the first-year
experience.
Orientation 2001 includes many
additional explorations.
"There are new awareness
programs this year," said Traci Faulkner, co-head orientation team
leader. "We combined the alcohol and date rape awareness programs
and made one new, big program."
"We have added a community
program this year called 'One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish: Living
and Learning in the Tech Community,'" said Kel Layer, co-head orientation
team leader. "We've modified part of a Dr. Seuss book, and we're
using that as part of transition pieces to talk about stereotypes, issues
of academic integrity, residence hall personal safety, and more."
"In addition, there is
a new program this year that deals with health and wellness," Gorman
added. "This includes some of the things students need to pay attention
to in terms of taking care of themselves and how that relates to being
a better student."
"Plus, we've created a
system for international students," said Gorman. "This program
will allow them to have two teams for the orientation week. They'll be
in one team combined with U.S. students, but they will also be a part
of a separate team of international students. This is an effort to try
to be as sensitive as we can to the needs of international students as
well as to try to integrate them. It should be an interesting experience
for them, and we'll be interested in getting evaluations on that at the
end of the program."
Although there are many new
highlights, the program will still contain many staples.
"I think one important
piece of the program is the presentation entitled 'Your First College
Lecture,'" Gorman said. "Dr. Mark Plichta from the College of
Engineering will be presenting to the engineering students, and Dr. John
Adler from the biology department will be presenting this lecture to all
the rest of the students. They will talk about their expectations for
the students and some do's and don'ts for being successful in school."
"The scavenger hunt is
another significant one," Gorman said. "This is campus wide
and gets the students more familiar with their surroundings. The scavenger
hunt also introduces the students to resources and services on campus
as well as their locations."
"And of course, we can't
have orientation without our giant banana split," Faulkner added.
All of the programs' events
help to accomplish orientation's underlying goals.
"We want the students
to get adjusted here at Tech both socially and academically," Layer
said. "We want them to know what sources and services are here for
them."
"We also want them to
meet people and make connections," Faulkner continued. "And
have fun at the same time."
With an anticipated 1,276 students
attending the program, "Oceans of Opportunity" has had some
help reaching these goals.
"It's not just this office
that produces orientation," Gorman said. "We rely on every office
on campus, from food service to facilities to every academic department
and many more. It's really a University effort, and we really appreciate
that kind of support."
