During Orientation Freshman attended a variety of events. Here are some of their accounts: "Uncensored", The Square Dance, Registration.
First-Year Orientation is an integral part of the Middlebury experience. It’s hard to forget the nervous excitement that prevails during the week. What’s most memorable however, is the enormous effort put forth by the students and the administration to give incoming first-years a warm welcome.
“It’s the whole College community welcoming [the first-years], not the CCAL [Center for Campus Activites and Leadership] office and not the president’s office and not your academic advisor,” said Ben Wessel, ’11.5, an orientation intern. “It’s a total collaboration. The first people you meet are these really excited students that are energetic about you being at college.”
Those really excited students in fact undergo extensive training in the weeks preceding orientation. The First-Year Counselors (or, in Midd lingo, FYCs) spend a week at Breadloaf learning how to facilitate a positive experience for incoming first-years.
“Being an FYC is like being a strategically-louder, more outgoing, sillier and more well-versed in the structure of Middlebury peer who isn’t afraid to ask a lot of questions and round up a group for an intense game of Ninja,” described Brainerd FYC Rachael Jennings ’11, who has been involved with the Residential Life staff for 3 years.
While Jennings and other FYCs are trained in everything from group dynamics to conflict resolution, their primary job is to build community.
“I picked this job,” said Tori Anderson ’13, “because I like getting to know people, getting to know not just what’s on the surface in the ‘hi how are you’ but getting into the different backgrounds and stuff you don’t always find out about a person.”
For Jennings, working as an FYC has proved a dynamic way to contribute to the Middlebury community. “I decided to join Res Life because I wanted to give back to the place that has given me so much,” she said. “I wanted to help build a community and support first-year students so that their freshman experience is a start to an amazing four years at Middlebury: full of nail polish and spa nights, apple crisp bake-offs, late-night dance parties, tea-table talks and fun.”
Fun was the order of the day at orientation. A number of upperclassmen returned to perform in “Voices of the Class,” where they dramatized stories submitted by first year students. “The purpose [of Voices of the Class] is to welcome the first-years by havingthe upperclassmen show them their voices and be like ‘we are showing you guys you are meant to be here,” Shannon Muscatello ’13. “This is who you are. This is your class. Realize that and realize how awesome you all are.”
While school probably doesn’t feel like home yet for most first years, orientation is a good indication of the supportive nature of the Middlebury student body. From the Features section to incoming freshman — we wish you a successful semester as you too join the college’s vibrant social fabric that, ultimately, feels like family.
Building Blocks: Students step up during orientation
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