A set of new orientation leaders has been named to guide the six orientation sessions that busy the otherwise quiet campus of the month of June. The Office of Admissions and Scholarships has named 22 MSU students to lead and help acquaint incoming freshmen and their parents to our campus.
The 2009 orientation leaders were chosen for their personality attributes and how well they interact together, said Lindsey Storey, Office of Admissions and Scholarships assistant director.
Story said the trademark optimistic, easygoing attitude exhibited by leaders is no coincidence.
“You have to create a balance within the team,” she said. “We look for a bit of everything – people who are shy, people who are more laid back and people who are outgoing. We can’t have 22 students who all want to be leaders. It’s all about putting the right people together.”
The process of selecting orientation leaders included students submitting applications, interest meetings and going through both group and individual interviews.
Students received notification of their selection by letter.
“I didn’t even open mine right away because I was so nervous,” new orientation leader and junior chemical engineering major Halston Hales said. “She [Storey] tells you what it means to be an orientation leader and you think, ‘I really want a shot at this.’ When I opened the letter and saw the word ‘congratulations,’ I was so excited. I ran down the stairs screaming and yelling.”
New orientation leader and junior secondary education major Tiffany Jackson said an orientation leader’s job is fairly straightforward: welcoming new students to campus.
“Our job is to bring in the new students and introduce them to Mississippi State,” Jackson said. “We try to make them feel at ease and the parents too. We try to get them acquainted with each other.”
Hales said orientation leadership is more than just a job to him.
“You get to know your team really well,” he said. “There are so many inside jokes, and by May and June, you’re with each other non-stop.”
Orientation leader Jay Hogg, junior biological sciences major, said having that companionship is a perk of the job.
“You get to meet so many people you wouldn’t have met otherwise and become like family with them,” he said.
However, being an orientation leader is not all fun and games, Storey said.
“Leaders have to take a three-hour class for credit during the spring,” she said. “They also participate in staff development for six hours a week, where they learn facts and history about the university to share with parents and the new students. Then they live on campus from the end of May through June.”
Leaders are also required to exercise three times a week in preparation for summer orientation, so that they can endure walking in the heat, Storey said.
“They work non-stop,” she said. “During orientation season, they are up by four or five o’clock in the morning and aren’t finished until about midnight. It’s a full day.”
Hogg said most people don’t realize how much work goes into being an orientation leader.
“They think ‘Why would you want to work all semester and get paid only a little?'” he said. “But it’s completely worth it in the long run and throughout the experience.”