Every organization under the Emerson sun is vying for attention at the Org Fair, but one individual shines the most. With a mile-wide smile and a personality to match, it’s Sam Tang, this year’s Orientation Chair, who stands out amidst the sea of students hungry for free pens. His energy is infectious as he bounces around, visiting every table with the same enthusiasm as the last – perhaps because he’s a member of just about everything?
A member of Stork Magazine, Campus Activities Board, SGA, Emerson College Quidditch, Greek Council, Orientation and a brother of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Tang is truly an Emersonian. Not only is he active in all of these organizations, but his excitement about and devotion to them is evident. It makes sense that this fervor would carry over to his role as Orientation Chair. Her Campus Emerson got a chance to ask Tang about this year’s immensely successful (and fun!) Orientation Week.
Her Campus Emerson: How did you get involved with Orientation? What appealed to you most about the program?
Sam Tang: I was encourage to be an OL by the former Greek Life Advisor Nicole Witkov. I had worked with her while planning Greek Week my sophomore year and she thought that the OL position would be a good one for my energy and enthusiasm. It appealed to me because this, more than any other org, allowed me to get CRAZY.
HCE: How did you feel when you found out you were chose to be Orientation Chair?
ST: I was ecstatic. Like…insanely happy and excited. For weeks after the decision, I couldn’t stop giggling or smiling or laughing when I would say “I’m Orientation Chair”. And the support I received from my friends was tremendous and honored me so much. My fraternity brothers, the past Core Staff members, and other applicants all were extremely happy for me when I received my letter.
HCE: What was your initial vision for this year’s Orientation? Did you look to past years for inspiration or did you start from scratch?
ST: With a program like Orientation…it’s really difficult to NOT look to the past when you’re building it up. There are so many traditions and expectations that have been built up over the years that made many people fall in love with the program in the first place, all I want to do is honor those.
This year though, I wanted more than the flash that other programs had brought, and that started with the theme. I wanted to create a community within the incoming students from the get go. I also encouraged all of the OLs to establish personal connections with every single one of their Orientees, to try and go deeper than the initial meetings.
HCE: How did you and the rest of Core Staff bond/work together this summer to build the final product?
ST: A big part of our bonding was that every Tuesday we’d have a Core Staff Family dinner. A few of us would cook for the rest of the group, we’d all sit down in the 10th Floor Colonial Common Room and hang out or talk about our week or weekend. We were our own support system; we’d try to help each other on our individual projects, and we’d be there for each other when we had the time.
HCE: What part of Orientation are you most proud of?
ST: Gah! There’s so much I want to say!! My Core Staffers, my OLs, the Greek Life Info Session and Greek Council for encouraging that along so much, the Wellness Monologues and the six actors…I am so proud of all of them!!
But the proudest thing I think would have to be my Tang Tips that I gave out while I was onstage. These were kind of an element that I wasn’t entirely sure about, but I wanted to take a chance with…my one real opportunity to say what I wanted to the Orientees and leave them with something personal. And it seems some of them paid off. A lot of new students have come up to me and told me that they really like the “Tang‘s Tips”, that they were either great ideas, or something very meaningful that spoke to them. The idea that something that I had said actually made them appreciate their situation and Emerson a little more made me so proud to be Chair.
HCE: Finally, this is your last year at Emerson and being a part of Orientation… What advice to you have for future Core Staffers, OLs and Chairs?
ST: Love what you do and do what you love – that’s the most important thing. The Orientation program is so huge and at it can be a little overwhelming, but it’s important to never lose sight of why any of us do this program in the first place. I love Orientation and so do a lot of other people; as long as we all keep that in mind, the stress and difficulties that go into making it happen seem so small.
Photos courtesy of Sam Tang