Recently, I have had the exciting opportunity to interview Yolanda Alfaro. Yolanda studies Human Biology at the University of Toronto and is President of the Innis College Student Society, as well as an Orientation Coordinator with the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU). In this article, Yolanda opens up about this year’s orientation and her own personal experience with orientation.
What exactly was your role in the UTSU orientation planning committee?
I was one of the Orientation Coordinators for the University of Toronto Students’ Union this past summer. In a nutshell, my role was to plan, construct and execute our 5 orientation events: the Tri-Campus Parade, Clubs Carnival, After Party, Movie Night, and Street Festival. We had an orientation team, where each of our members specialized in certain areas, such as sponsorship and marketing. We acted almost like supervisors to coordinate and tie everything in, while dealing with the logistics that come with planning such large events.
What made you want to take on this role?
I love orientation; I have been involved in Innis’s orientation as both a leader and Orientation Coordinator. As much work as it was, I truly enjoy all of the energy, excitement and fun during that first week of school. In light of the big shift to the Faculty of Arts and Science’s calendar, I really wanted to help make orientation fun, valuable and worth while for our new students, even if the week was cut a little short. I was lucky enough to have had a great first experience at UofT, and I really want to provide the same experience in any way that I can.
How did your orientation experience at UofT influence the way you planned orientation?
As I mentioned, I had a great first experience at UofT during my orientation week and first week of class. When planning orientation this past summer, I really wanted to focus on the student experience. For me, that meant putting student needs first rather than my own personal convenience. It was a transitional year for everyone, trying to alter traditions and norms to fit with the 3 day orientation schedule, so it required a lot of innovation, compromise, and a ton of open conversations. As tough as it was to change what was done in the past, it was definitely worth it to see so many students come out and enjoy themselves at our events.
Can you tell me a little bit about the logistics and planning that goes into the organization of orientation week?
My role began in March 2017, so my co-coordinator and I began our planning pretty early. It was definitely a challenge to get through all of our beginning stage transitions during exam time, but I definitely got in the swing of things once summer hit and I began working full time, 40+ hours a week. Since our events were open to all of the membership, there was a lot of work to be done for every event. We worked with a team of 7 orientation executives, all of which were involved with the planning of each event, as well as their own portfolio tasks. We also had a large number or Senior Orientation Leaders and Orientation Leaders who were instrumental to the success of our events.
What was the hardest part about planning orientation week?
I think the hardest part of planning orientation week was finding the best solution for the most amount of people, especially since the week was shortened. We worked closely with the divisional OCs to make sure we could take as much of their programming into consideration. Coming to our final decisions on dates, times, etc. was definitely a challenge, but I think that my background in divisional orientation helped me out in that regard.
How do you think orientation week impacts an individual’s university experience?
To me, I think that first impressions are really important. In terms of starting school though, what was more impactful than the first impression of the school was the resources and guidance that orientation week provided to me. Of course it was great having a full week of fun and excitement to close off summer, but it was also really helpful that I gained important information to make the rest of my school year successful too. I hope that students enjoyed their orientation, but I also hope that they can carry what they’ve learned beyond the first few weeks.
UofT separates different orientations by colleges and faculties. Do you think that this makes for a better frosh experience? Do you think it’s ever possible to have a full campus orientation without any faculty/college divisions?
I definitely believe that divisional orientation is vital for a good student experience. Coming from a smaller college myself, I know how important it is to engage yourself within your own smaller community. Orientations for specialized faculties also helps in regards to academic programming, where it would be more valuable for engineers to have an engineering-specific orientation, rather than being looped in with arts and science. The UTSU’s annual orientation programming is meant to supplement the programming of divisions, so that we can give everyone a chance to come together.
Do you think this year’s orientation week was successful?
We still have one more event to go – Street Festival on Tuesday September 12th – but overall I think our events were pretty successful this year. We tried something extremely new by combining our Clubs Fair with the Carnival usually takes place directly after the parade. The merge made for an extremely busy summer, as we essentially had to coordinate for 2 events in 1. There is definitely room for improvement should next year’s OCs choose to continue with this event, but overall I think it was pretty great for the first time!
What do you think the orientation team can improve on for next year?
I feel so fortunate to have had such an amazing and dedicated orientation team. The staff and executives at the UTSU were also extremely helpful for the whole planning process and at the events themselves. If there is one piece of advice I could pass on to next year’s orientation team, it would be to keep the bigger picture in mind when things get tough. It is often easy to get caught up in small details, especially with an event this large. But I believe it’s important to constantly reflect on why we’re doing this, and what we can do to improve ourselves not just after we’re done, but throughout the process too.
Which activity do you think was the most enjoyed, and why? Does it tend to be the most enjoyed activity every year?
The Tri-Campus Parade is always such an anticipated event every year. As I mentioned, it’s a great way to end off orientation by unifying all of the divisions. This year, folks definitely appreciated the positive culture at the pre-parade cheer off, as all the divisions displayed their pride and still kept friendly and respectful relations with all the other divisions. This event is pretty much the most enjoyed every year, but the positivity displayed this year was definitely something that impacts the first year experience.
Now that orientation week has finished — do you have any advice for first years for the rest of the year?
Orientation is almost over for me, which is both very exciting and sad at the same time. I love the atmosphere that orientation week brings to campus. What I would say to first years is to keep that optimistic and positive vibe going throughout the year. For me, orientation week was one of the only times I would constantly be pushing myself out of my comfort zone to meet new friends and try new things. It would be great to have the same type of environment persist throughout the school year!
How can students get involved in next year’s orientation planning committee? If there are any interested students, where can they find out more information about this?
Positions for the UTSU’s orientation will be visible on their website (utsu.ca/jobs). There are so many ways to get involved, all of which are extremely rewarding! Orientation could not have been as successful without all of the work done by my co-coordinator, the UTSU staff and executives, our orientation executive team, our leaders and everyone else who gave their time and effort!
Edited by Sophia Savva