Name: Ashley Winkeler
Major: Human Development
Hometown: Centreville
Fun Fact: If she could have anyone give her a tour around Virginia Tech, it would be Frank Beamer!
Position: Orientation Leader
One of the biggest first steps to freshman year of college is orientation! All incoming freshman attend orientation to get to know the place that they will soon call home. Orientation leaders are here to make this transition a little easier. Orientation leaders serve as one of the first go-to sources for new students. This highly competitive position is definitely an experience of a lifetime according to Junior Ashley Winkeler.
Ashley has had the Hokie spirit for quite some time. “My parents both went here so I have been a Hokie all my life.” When she decided to attend Tech, one of the things that stood out to her was how the spirit all of the students had transcended from the football field all the way to the classroom. With all of this love for Virginia Tech, she knew that she had to pass it on to new Hokies. “I really like mentoring and getting to know people so I thought that applying to be an orientation leader would be the best way for me to fulfill my passions.” After a long application process that included both a group interview and an individual interview, she was finally selected as 1 of only 30 students to be an orientation leader!
With Ashley’s new position also came the glory of being a part of one of the first group of people to meet the freshman class. “They’re a really cool class. I met some really awesome and unique people and I can’t wait to see the mark they leave on this campus.” She loved how diverse the group of students were. She met people that ranged from a student who had been on a TV show to a student who had been in the Olympics Trials for swimming. When asked what the best piece of advice that she gave to students was she responded “I always told my students to say yes to new opportunities and try new things. Leave your door open. Say yes to the person down the hall asking you to get dinner. Say yes to the person asking you to go to a club interest meeting.” She really wanted to emphasize what a great, eye opening journey these new Hokies were going to embark on!
While most people know what orientation entails from an outside perspective, not quite everyone really understands what it is like behind the scenes for the orientation leaders themselves. “The greatest thing about it and what some people may not realize is that you become a family with the other leaders. It gave me 35 more friends and 35 more reasons as to why I love being a Hokie” Ashley acknowledges how living with her fellow orientation leaders and spending so much time together just brings you really close. “When times were stressful, I always knew that there would be someone there to make me laugh.”
While it was hard for her to choose just one thing she took away from this whole experience, Ashley said “What I took away is how much I love Virginia Tech and how much I love the people and how much I enjoyed getting to know the class of 2020. I really couldn’t have asked for more. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my summer any other way.”