Tufts launched its newly restructured orientation program this year, designed to help first-years build community through the creation of orientation groups. From Sept. 2 through Sept. 7, incoming students had the opportunity to attend classic, fan-favorite events, including the O-Show and Jumboning, while spending time within their small cohort.
Each group was facilitated by two student orientation leaders responsible for guiding 24 first-years through orientation events, hosting four small-group sessions and organizing a time to regroup within the first six weeks of the semester. The programmatic changes resulted in a $500 orientation fee which in part goes toward paying student orientation leaders.
The undergraduate orientation staff were responsible for redesigning the program. “We began the planning process for this change more than two years ago,” Mary Kate Kelley, director of orientation and student experience, said.
Kelley and her team incorporated input from parent, family and student surveys, spoke with staff and faculty and consulted with student coordinators. “The feedback was unanimous — orientation needed groups!” Kelley said. She added, “Having orientation groups is a standard at most universities — I’ve never come across another orientation program that does not have leaders.”
In reference to the program fee, Kelley commented, “We did budget projections and looked at peer institutions to make sure our new student fees align with our peers.”
Joe Peterson, a senior, was an undergraduate orientation coordinator for Kelley’s team. He has worked on the orientation staff for three years, motivated to return by anecdotes from students about how orientation helped them find community. Peterson struggled to adjust to Tufts as a first-year student who didn’t participate in a Pre-Orientation program and believes that the opportunity to meet people in small groups would have helped his transition.
Meryl Welsh, a first-year, participated in a Pre-O program, but said that “for kids who didn’t, I think that it is good to have smaller groups because it makes it more manageable to get to know a specific group of people.”
A first-year who hadn’t participated in Pre-O also valued the small groups, saying “I’m not really that extroverted, so I think it was really helpful in getting to know more people, and I did get to make some friends.”
Helping students build connections is a part of Tufts’ broader approach to orientation, which aims to promote intellectual engagement, inclusion and community. “When I’m thinking through events, I’m like, how can we [achieve] each of those [goals] with what we’re planning?” Peterson said.
He highlighted the drag show as an example of these goals in action: “We just really see students come into themselves and just have a blast.”
The Illumination Ceremony, which occurred on Sept. 3, is Peterson’s favorite event. Watching the first-years “feels like the first time that they are really like ‘wow this is my community, this is a beautiful community and this is where I’m meant to be,’” Peterson said.
The transition from zero orientation leaders to 160 posed new challenges, including the hiring and training process. “It’s really important to make sure that everyone gets on the same page regarding the Tufts culture and the Tufts values,” Peterson said. “People that are living out those goals … are something we look for in the hiring process to be sure that they would be able to instill those within their first-year students.”
Peterson and three other student coordinators contributed to the recruitment process, including Ruby Appleton, a junior and another undergraduate orientation coordinator. In her role, Appleton developed two days of training for orientation leaders, including sessions with CARE and programs to help develop facilitation and community-building skills.
On the second day of orientation, Appleton said, “I think honestly, it’s going swimmingly […] I think people are building connections with their group members and also their group leaders.”
Peterson agreed that the pilot program ran smoothly, saying that “a lot of our really intentional planning pulled through and has been successful.”
Despite the program’s success, Peterson acknowledged room for improvement. “I already have a notes app list on my phone of things to change about orientation,” he said. “I always say that the first day of orientation planning starts the second after the last day ends.”
Under the direction of her orientation leaders, Lily Pacuit, a first-year, said her group did “mostly icebreakers, which I see the value in.”
Welsh also participated in name games and icebreakers, but noted that student leaders personalized the schedule. “I think a lot of the orientation group leaders aren’t super strictly following whatever they were given, which I think makes it more fun because it’s a much more relaxed environment and people can actually get to know each other,” Welsh said.
Appleton hopes engagement between the members of orientation groups will lead to lasting friendships. “The orientation coordinators were able to do what they wanted with planning orientation, and now it’s time for the students and the leaders to make orientation truly their own,” said Appleton.
Ultimately, orientation aims to make college feel less daunting. “We hope students can leave orientation with a feeling of belonging — that they feel connected to other students and ready to start their new transition,” Kelley said.
