Four years ago, I was packing the Barton Tee Shirt I got on my campus tour into an overnight bag—excited and nervous about June Orientation. I had toured the Barton campus six months earlier, and I was scared that maybe campus wasn’t as great as I had remembered or that everyone was being nice to me because I was on tour.
My mom and I drove overnight from New Jersey and were welcomed back to campus with energetic music, an even more energetic Orientation Team, and with a big hug from the student ambassador who had given me the tour! The excitement was palpable and contagious as it moved from the current students to my incoming class and our families, and it did not dwindle by any means as Barton’s Orientation Leaders danced down the aisles during their welcome, told us why they were proud to be at Barton, and introduced us to the faculty and staff, campus, and services. I left on the second day of Orientation knowing that I was going to return to my “second home” for Welcome Weekend as part of the Barton community.
This morning, I woke up and walked into my current position as a Barton graduate working with the Orientation Program. In no other office can I imagine a day of lively discussion about housing overnight students, snap chat story filming, building a popcorn machine, and practicing for the running man challenge.
The Student Affairs staff members are constantly moving, brainstorming, innovating, and searching for more ways to get new students excited about starting their college career. We are working hurriedly to train our Orientation Leaders to make sure that your experience is one that will connect you to Barton College for a lifetime. Class of 2020, see you soon!
Hannah Finkelstein, Class of 2016