A warm summer day to kick off Orientation

Greeting me when I returned to work after a few days of vacation was a whole new incoming class!  Before I even reached Fletcher on my walk from the bus, I had run into a student whom I met last September at an APSIA fair, and when we went into the Hall of Flags, the place was buzzing with students picking up materials, grabbing breakfast, and generally getting ready for a busy Orientation week.  (A warm week, too!  August may end today, but the summer weather continues.)

Students in all of the degree programs attend Orientation together and participate in a combination of briefings on the School, the University, and the academic program, along with social events designed to bring everyone together.  Naturally, there’s a lot of self-orientation and shared exploration happening, too.  (Where can I pick up groceries for the week?  What’s the best route from my apartment to the School?  Where’s the best place to grab a cup of coffee?)  I reckon that there are moments when the information gathering feels pretty overwhelming, but by the time classes begin next week, everyone is ready to jump into the semester.

Though the routine for Orientation doesn’t change much from year to year, it still never gets old.  The students are about to meet people who will be their friends forever.  A few will even meet their future spouse!  More fundamentally — they will lay the academic groundwork to move forward in their careers, or transition to new careers.  And they will always have the Fletcher family to rely on as they move through their studies and beyond.