With less than a month until all you 'class of 2016' students move in, you must be all excited! I'll be on campus throughout orientation & I'm looking forward to move-in day & to meeting all of you!
Before my orientation last summer, I was super nervous about my first year of college, and especially of move-in day and orientation. For lots of students, your first year of college is tough. It's absolutely fabulous, but it's also the first time you live away from home, you need to make new friends, you're more independent, and you have a more difficult course load. Even the most prepared students can get overwhelmed with all of that. During Orientation, it's important to take a deep breathe and to live in the moment. Forget about everything else and focus on moving in, meeting friends, and learning about Saint Mike's.
SO, HOW TO ROCK ORIENTATION 101:
1) Talk to everyone!
Just be friendly! The best way to make tons of new friends is to talk to everyone around you at orientation activities, in your hall, or while getting breakfast in Alliot. Remember that everyone is trying to make new friends, so they'll be overjoyed if you initiate conversation
2) Meet your roommate
This is a no-brainer. During orientation is a great time to get close with your roomie. Organize your room together, go to orientation activities or eat in Alliot together. Basically just get to know your roommate. Establish some rules for your room (like no guests past 12 pm during the week or clean your dishes after you use them) and make sure you have a mutual respect for one another. Your roommate can definitely become your best friend - I'm super tight with my roommate!
3) Attend every orientation event
This can be hard to do. When making new friends during orientation, it's easy to start spending time with them and stop attending orientation activities. While it's not the worst thing in the world (I mean, if you're skipping with friends it means you've already made friends - go you!) it's definitely beneficial to go to orientation events. This is because 1) they're fun (the 'Fun for All' on Friday night is so hilarious and 'Connections' shows you what an amazing, supportive community Saint Mike's is), and 2) the orientation leaders spent a lot of time planning them just for you!
4) Talk to your O-leaders
Your orientation leaders applied to be an O-leader, THEN went through a rigorous selection process, THEN had to attend training days before move-in. As upperclassmen, they know a lot about Saint Mike's. They know how to get over homesickness, which professors are great and which simply enjoy assigning mass amounts of homework; they even know what the best food in Alliot is, and which foods should be avoided at all costs. They know a lot about SMC and they want to share it with you!
5) Call your parents
If your parents are like mine, they're worried about you adjusting to college! I'm not saying that you should call them every single day, morning and night (in fact, that may be a tad bit unhealthy) but you should definitely check in with them to let them know that you're doing good. After all, they're sad to see you leave them after 18 years!
6) Find your classrooms
Basically just prepare a bit for Monday morning classes. Check out the mail room, know where the library is, find your classrooms, make sure you have all your books. Getting ready for classes, even just the tiniest bit, will really calm your nerves come your very first college class.
Hope these tips helped! Check out the orientation schedule here. If you have any questions about move-in, let me know! I'm so excited to meet all of you! Enjoy the rest of your summer!
