After a summer of being a camp counselor and making sure that small children don’t tear each other to bits, I was expecting a similar, sort of deluxe edition of the same thing coming into Orientation Leader training. What awaited me was so much more than I could have ever hoped.
From day one I could feel the positivity in this new community. From meeting my temporary roomie in Bard to our first activities as OLs (Orientation Leaders) together, I could tell it was going to be an amazing experience. And in the end, it was. And I have gained so much from it. What stands out to me most though, is the confidence, positivity, and family.
I honestly didn’t think that I would gain that much in the area of confidence when it came to being an OL. I was already comfortable in front of people and leading groups and I didn’t think I had anything more to learn. But by learning how groups work, and how to connect better with them, and by being a part of the most amazing and supportive group of people I have ever met, I got to see a whole new side of confidence. When working with children, it is easy to develop a confidence in being an authority figure. You know your power, and you generally feel like you know a bit more than who you’re leading. When speaking in front of people, you can gain a confidence in what you’re saying and your personal presentation. But for me at least, this left my confidence in connecting with others a bit lacking. Every day I came into a community that was so inviting and so loving that I got more practice connecting than I even knew what to do with. And that constant connection gave me such confidence to go forward and do my best when the freshmen arrived. Now, did that mean that everything was perfect when orientation arrived? No, but I didn’t give up day 1 when people wanted to leave. Instead, I focused more on trying to connect with those who did return. And because of the training and the people I was with, I gained the confidence to do so.
Much of this confidence then derived from an extremely positive atmosphere. There was really never such a thing as failure. Whether we were team building or crafting or playing a game, there was always someone there to help out or to point out what you or the group was doing well. OLs on this campus have a reputation for being really bubbly and happy all the time, for better or for worse. And while that assumption isn’t really the truth at the end of the day, I think that many of us, myself included, found ways to stay positive or at least not let negativity stop us, even when we were frustrated or when rough things outside of orientation got to us. No matter what was happening in our outside lives, we all persisted through training and through orientation with – albeit tired – smiles and hugs galore. Though in my opinion, both of these aspects wouldn’t be possible without the family that was built during those weeks.
I’ve made amazing friends since I’ve come to college. Some I would even count as siblings. But during orientation, my family tripled in size. I found brothers, sisters, even maternal and paternal figures during just a short 2-ish weeks. There was never a shortage of love in that community. Every person was supporting and was supported by everyone else. Never before have I felt that I could go up to any one of 56 people and cry on their shoulder, or laugh with them, or just complain about random stuff going on, or be super excited about whatever I am passionate about and have a loving, fully attentive ear, free of judgments. I don’t know that I will ever find that again, but I don’t think I need to.
So if you’re considering becoming an Orientation Leader and are still on the fence, here’s my advice: get off the fence. Not only is it very uncomfortable and probably not your fence, but you will learn so much about yourself and find so many new relationships that you never would have even guessed at beforehand. So if you’re up for it, ~treat yo self~ and become an orientation leader. You won’t regret it.
Now, what questions do you have?
*All photos courtesy of Millersville Orientation Planning Committee 2017