When I signed up to be an OL, I thought I was stepping into a role. What I didn’t expect was stepping into a family. Through all of the weird icebreakers and long days, I found people who see me in ways I didn’t even know I wanted to be seen. The moments of discomfort, the willingness to be silly, the ability to be vulnerable, created the foundation for the relationships I could never have imagined. I don’t know how it’s possible within a two-week period to create the relationships that are created within this team.
We spent hours together; sometimes sitting in auditoriums listening to campus partners, sometimes practicing facilitation techniques, and sometimes just talking. But it didn’t matter what we were doing; we were together.
Before Orientation, I was quiet. Unsure of how much of myself I should share with the world; never daring to talk about the things that were hard. I second-guessed my words, hesitated to step forward, and sometimes felt invisible in spaces that mattered to me. But orientation changed all of that. Suddenly I was surrounded by people who wanted to know me, who encouraged me to take up space, and who made me feel like my voice had weight. They pushed me to open up in ways I didn’t think I could, and slowly I began to believe that what I had to say mattered.
It seems silly to say but this program truly reshaped who I am. I learned that leadership isn’t about being the loudest or the best in the room, it’s about creating space, making sure every voice is heard, and every person feels like they belong. In building a home for our first years, we unknowingly built a home for ourselves too.
It was within that home that I found some of the most important people in my life. I met my best friend, who always shows up for me and can make me laugh no matter what is happening around me. I found a sister, someone who felt like family from the very beginning. And I met countless others who have become my comfort, and who I know would have my back through anything and everything, even after just knowing them for a few weeks.
This program also brought me a beautiful soul, who’s impact on me and this community cannot be done justice in words. His smile and light made people feel seen and heard like no other, and comfortable to be authentically ourselves. His loss changed this campus and all of us forever. But orientation was able to show me the light and the legacy he had built here. His presence shined through every beautiful and hard moment of this orientation, and that was the most magical thing I have ever experienced. Having this family to hold each other up, to tell stories about him, and to carry one another through the grief, changed everything for me.
Orientation is about so much more than icebreakers and introductions to campus resources, it’s about finding a home in unexpected people. I truly wish that everyone could experience the love and beauty of being an Orientation Leader at Bentley because I am walking away a stronger, more whole, confident person because of all of the people that I met.
As I come into senior year, knowing that this orientation was my last, I will forever look back on it as the place where I grew into myself. These people, this family, are a part of my story forever. I don’t know what the future will hold, but I know that I will walk into it with the strength and confidence that orientation gave me.