Three years ago, I was sitting in the SJC auditorium at freshmen orientation. I was surrounded by over 400 people that I did not know. I was excited, but so nervous at the same time. Eventually, the speakers started. The orientation leaders made a video and created a song for the incoming class. After they all introduced themselves I felt so much better and I thought that it must be so much fun to become and orientation leader. My orientation leaders were there for us from orientation until the end of the fall 2013 semester. I wanted to be that person who was there for the freshmen from the beginning to the end and beyond. When applications for orientation team were sent out I applied right away. I interviewed with student life staff and absolutely bombed it. I was not selected my first year applying.

I was very disappointed and upset. Not only were my friends comforting me, but the orientation leaders from the previous orientation were as well. It made me want to work even harder for the next application process. I nailed the application and interview and was happily selected the second time around. I was so excited to meet my new team and bond with them. Our bonds were incredible; I felt like I had a 45-member family. When I walked into the orientation day, I knew exactly what the freshmen were thinking and feeling. And I gave everyone I could a friendly smile. I walked up to my freshmen group and introduced myself right away. I saw some confidence grow in the freshmen as the orientation day continued. When I finally sat down in the room with my group it was awesome. I met the group of students that I followed throughout the entire semester.

I watched them grow. They took a lot of different paths in student life; Greek life, student government, multicultural student life, and so on. I wish I had the chance to get to know all of them better, but I saw them strive during their first semester at SJC. I knew I wanted to have the same experience again as an orientation leader. I applied for the position again and I was selected for my senior year.

I was so excited to bond with a lot of new faces and students on the Brooklyn campus as well. I met so many new people and developed strong bonds that will never be broken. For the first time, we had the opportunity to see the Brooklyn campus and the students from Brooklyn saw our campus. Both groups fell in love with each other’s campus. We had a BBQ and a dance party within the two days of spending with each other. It was incredible to develop such close bonds in such a short amount of time. Now that orientation is (tomorrow), it really kicked in that I’m about to experience the true part of being a leader again.

Meeting the freshmen and their parents along with the transfer students is so exciting. Watching the freshmen grow into future leaders is so rewarding. Of course the free stuff, workshops, bonding, and of course food, is a fun part of being an orientation leader. But the most important part of being an orientation leader is to get the incoming students acclimated into SJC and help them grow. It’s hard to get to know every single freshmen on a personal level, but inspiring and getting through to one student, I consider my job a success.