Author: Kat (Page 87 of 89)

Yes, it’s been a bit since I last updated this on the joys of being an orientation advisor.

My last group of freshmen flew by. I don’t even remember them…they were a nice group of 20, a few being very excited about being here (including my history major and my volleyball player–they were great!) and the rest of them just seeming completely disgusted and not even caring about anything. Many of all my orientees have been pre-med–easy for scheduling purposes, but do we really need that many doctors? I guess we do. The majority will change their minds soon enough though, so we’ll see where these students stand come end of their sophmore years.

Then I had crew/set up. I got to park cars and hold signs. Then I got to drag tables and watch funny movies in Lecture Hall 1 when we had free time. It was that session where I met Alda, who is best friends with a family I used to work for in high school. She’s from another high school in the City School District, bringing the City of Rochester total here to…three (Brian Jones, me, and now Alda). She rocks! It was so exciting to talk to someone who came from the same school district!

Tomorrow begins the last session, Session I. Well, it’s not really the last session, but it’s the last two day full session with the 25 OAs. I’m working with the families (hooray–I love interacting with families, see my previous entries as to why). I just have a better time interacting with them. And after Tuesday night, we finish cleaning and then it’s vacation! Then I come back here sometime around the 14th, pack up my apartment here in Susquehanna, and move over to Mountainview. On August 20th, we start preparations for the last session (the “oops, you forgot to come to orientation and you kind of really need classes” session), do the last session, staff Welcome Back Weekend, and then we’re done. Then classes begin, and so do the 10 or so extracurriculars I have agreed on doing this year. Sigh…we will see, we will see.

This weekend I got to have dessert with the Vice President of Student Affairs and have dinner at my bosses’ house. Add to that the dinner I had with President DeFleur at the beginning of the summer, and I’d like to say I have seriously networked my way around this campus. This job has been awesome for that respect. And if any of them can get me jobs, I’d love them for it.

Well, I might as well get to the work I have to do and to get to sleep, since I do have to wake up early tomorrow. I’ll update this tomorrow or Tuesday and let you all know how the last session went.

Oh, yeah, out of state totals for the all sessions thus far: @11 MA (4 in one session alone, including one from Beverly, where one of my favourite ex-Ithacans, Caitlin, is from!), a lot of Jerseys (I think they came in a group the last two sessions), a lot of Penn. (maybe 10 a session the last few it seems), a Florida, two CAs, 2-3 IL, 3-4 Marylands.

Music: I’ve had “A Thousand Miles” stuck in my head all day. There is a reason for that…

Quick post, because I need to rest for tomorrow’s session (actually, by the time I finish typing, it will be today’s session).

This transfer session had it’s ups and downs–although I must say, out of the 16 I was assigned, the 6 that actually showed up for things and particpated were fun to hang out with. The highlights were my Latin major and her cool mom (the very first Classics major we’ve had all year); my two Engineering guys, who were great to eat dinner and do schedules with; the mother from Rochester who also went to School #52 (although, as she assured me, many years before I did); and the History major transfer from IC, bringing the whole summer IC to Binghamton transfer total to roughly five, which brings the total number of IC to Binghamton transfers that I know of on campus to nine (that includes myself). I think IC may want to look into that…(What’s even more scary is the number of those of us who lived in Terrace 5 in 2000-2001 who ended up transfering…I forget the last count, but it’s many more than it should.)

The out of state count: 1.5 (long story) Colorados, 3 (?) Jerseys, .5 Mass. (another long story), and 3 or 4 Penn.

And that was my one and only transfer session. Yes, I still want to work in and research transfer advising. If anything, the expierence makes me want to research it more.

I’m heading to bed so I can rest up for my last group of freshmen (the two sessions after this one I work set-up and families). I’ll be back on Wednesday…

What do OAs do on their day off?

•Watch the Quarterback Challenge and conclude that Marc Bulger is the hottest active quarterback in the NFL, with Mark Burnell a very close second.

•Attempt to shrink my still way too big OA polo shirts (I was mildly successful.)

•Watch Mr. Deeds, which has to have one of the best soundtracks of the past few years.

•Door tags for the floor I will stay on tomorrow night.

•Pack for tomorrow.

•Make sure I know what I’m talking about tomorrow.

•Dream about scheduling classes for something like the fifth night in a row.

•Try to plan my grad school visit/vacation, which is mighty hard to do when BC, BU and Harvard’s admissions offices are closed on Saturday afternoons and you don’t have time during the time they are open to call them.

•Realise that I’ve overbooked myself for my senior year and unless I like having no life and bouts of laryngitis, something should really change. But will it? I guess that’s up to me. Three people today alone told me that something has to change. Three. Add to that my therapist last fall, my father, my mother, my sister, most of Holiday last year, all the guys who have turned me down when I’ve asked them out in the past seven months…is this a consensus? I think this pretty much is. Okay, I guess now I have to learn tactful, nice ways to say no that will not make me feel guilty. Or just how to say the word “no” in general. I may need help with this.

All in all, a nice day off. On to my transfers…

Music: The person above me playing music, along with the occasional blasting car stereo. But I did catch the last fifteen minutes of Selena, which means I have that soundtrack stuck in my head. I think that was the last good movie J.Lo ever made. Oh wait, The Wedding Planner is pretty good. But yeah, I think that was it for her.

Give me an undecided student’s favourite movie, CD and book, and I can choose classes for them that will fufill general education requirements.

Ladies and gentlemen, I think I have found my calling.

In other (but still related news), Elyse, one of the secretaries in Campus Activities and Orientation, is the funniest person ever. I sat with her, Theresa, Jack, Orlando, and Mo at the Orientation dinner tonight, and I think I burned off all the calories I ate by laughing.

My orientees were excellent this session–they had already looked at the schedule of classes online, and knew a lot of what they wanted. They jumped on the registration system and, for the most part, got much of what they wanted. Very nice–I commend them. I feel bad because my groups don’t nessercarily bond as well as others, but I try the best I can in the very limited amount of hours I am given with them.

Transfers on Sunday–“our peeps” as Danielle would say. I wonder how they treat an OA who has been a transfer as opposed to an OA who has not. We will see. I’ll just call this as the beginning of my grad school research–especially if I get a few athletes. Today I had a wrestler–he was cool. We talked D1 residential guidelines at 1am.

For those of you keeping track: We had one orientee from Mass. this time (Martha’s Vineyard), quite a few from Jersey, one from Illinois, and handful from Penn. Yes, I will be scanning the parking lots opening day to get my fill of different license plates (seeing that freshmen can’t have cars, I won’t get to see them throughout the year).

Music: “It’s You” by Michelle Branch. I love that song–and someday, I will be able to apply it to someone. Hopefully.