St. Lawrence Orientation

Every August forty St. Lawrence students end their summer vacations a week early and return to campus. They come not out of boredom, rather to offer their enthusiastic services to incoming students. They come with more energy than is often considered acceptable, and they come with definite purpose and enthusiasm. Most aren’t always this intense, although some are, but the time of year and joint purpose brings something special out of all of them. These students are the St. Lawrence Orientation leaders, and I am proud to call myself one of them. 

We are those students who were always meant to be camp councilors, but for one reason or another never fully realized this calling. Our early arrival to campus is done to mentally and physically prepare for the last Sunday in August, which marks the start of orientation for over six-hundred new Laurentians. We are many times the first students these first years will interact with, and we wish to share our love for this place, but more than all else, we want to give them a fitting welcome for the start of their life as Laurentians.  

The training for orientation is mostly fun and games, as we literally learn different name games and a variety of ice-breaker activities; however, we do also focus on important issues students deal with as they transition into a new environment. Through the training we often learn a considerable amount about ourselves. We discover our leadership styles, and use these to compliment the strengths of our partners who are responsible for the same group of students during orientation. Each year we end training with a lazy float down the Grass River on various inflatable devices. As we relax and decompress from the week of training, we finish mentally preparing for move-in day.

From the moment the students arrive on campus until they sit down for their first class, the orientation leader position is a nonstop job. Orientation leaders routinely lose their voices through the process, and by the last day we are physically drained, yet we push through and don’t falter. Still, in the end I come back each year with the same excitement. 

Reiff College 2012 My first first-year group 

Orientation is planned by the office of student activities, which hires one of my fellow OLs each year to help plan out the events and training with meticulous detail. The amount of effort that goes into the orientation planning is astounding, and I was able to watch this first hand during my summer at St. Lawrence. The orientation process doesn’t just involve bonding activities and names games, but has some more practical offerings as well. Information technology hires students in their department to return early and set up computers for new students with all their tech needs. Students are able to have computers fitted with wifi, public printing, and network drives all in one place. During orientation students meet with their advisor and select classes during their individual meetings.

I became an orientation leader simply because I enjoyed orientation as a first year student to the extent that I decided I wanted to experience orientation for three more years. I even planned my study abroad experience for the spring so that I wouldn’t miss an August of Orientation.

Reiff College 2012 My second first-year group  

Back in freshmen year I started my St. Lawrence experience by taking advantage of a pre-orientation trip led by student guides through the St. Lawrence Outdoor Program. Along with four other incoming students we kayaked around the Saranac Lake Region of the Adirondacks. We spend four days in the wilderness and sat around campfires hearing stories of all that we had to look forward to with our arrival on campus. This trip severed not only as a way to meet some of my fellow classmates, and some upperclassmen who led the trip, but it was also a great introduction to the surrounding region which is one of the great strengths of this school. I learned how close we actually are to the Adirondack Park and how easily students can slip away from campus for a weekend of outdoor enjoyment. The demand for these pre-orientation trips increases every year, and they continue to add more programs to accommodate the students who wish to participate. Students have the opportunity to hike at one of three different experience levels, kayak, canoe, rock climb, or even white water raft. For more information about the outdoor program, which offers outdoor experiences and classes for students, check out their website (http://stlawu.edu/academics/experience/outdoor-program). I highly recommend taking advantage of these trips to any incoming students. 

As orientation leaders we come back for the new students, but much of what we get out of the experience is from working alongside the other orientation leaders. We come together from all corners of campus life and develop friendships which extend much further beyond the week we spend together for orientation. I love my fellow orientation leaders greatly for their selflessness, spirit, and generosity. 

My Fellow Orientation Leaders 2012

On tour I often receive questions from prospective students about the orientation process, and what they should expect upon their arrival on campus. Without exception every time I am asked this, a smile crosses my face as I think of the three years of orientation I have gone through already, and all those people I have met during my time in the program. Orientation at St. Lawrence serves as a continuation of the welcoming environment of the St. Lawrence Admissions process, and helps to transition students to our welcoming community. See you in August.