WILSON, N.C. – Students, the countdown is ticking away for Summer Orientation at Barton College! With the first two sessions concluded in June, the third and final session of Summer Orientation, Aug. 18-20, will prepare you for the start of your academic career as a Bulldog.
Residential students, your Summer Orientation begins on Aug. 18 as you “take care of business” with the business affairs staff to finalize your financial obligations. Then, you’re off to the residence halls to move in!
Next is lunch. Join your fellow Bulldogs in the Dining Hall or in Bully’s Campus Grill, both located in the Hamlin Student Center; or venture off-campus to enjoy one of Wilson’s great eateries.
After lunch, our students from other nations will assemble for the international student meeting. Following that, all freshmen and transfer students will attend informal residence hall meetings where you will meet your floor mates and your Resident Advisor (RA).
Hamlin Student Center then welcomes you back for dinner; and you’re off again to meet your Orientation Leaders, who will guide you through day two of Orientation. You’ll close out the day relaxing and having a great time during the fun-filled evening activities in the Hamlin Student Center.
Day two begins with breakfast for our residential students, while our commuting freshmen and transfer students will meet with the Office of Business Affairs. All freshmen will then head out to take the mathematics placement test.
After the test, your Orientation session gets into full swing in Hardy Alumni Hall with a greeting from Dr. Norval Kneten, president of Barton College. Then, George Solan, vice president for student affairs, and Dr. Terry Grimes, vice president for academic affairs, will present information on Barton’s Honor Code and discuss student success. You’ll get to meet the Student Affairs staff afterward and then head to lunch.
After lunch with your Orientation Leader, you’ll break into round-robin groups and head out to your information sessions where you’ll learn about Barton College traditions, student activities, and the College’s computer network. Leaving your information sessions, you’ll meet your First Year Seminar (FYS) instructors. Then, some of you will take the foreign language and English placement tests if you have been advised to do so; and a commuter session will be available to help commuting students get connected on campus.
An all-campus picnic awaits you on center campus, followed by a session in Howard Chapel. Motivational speaker Adam Shepard will tell you how to learn from failure and will discuss the importance of a positive attitude.
Then, you’ll return to the Hamlin Student Center for Casino Night. The Vegas-style games will give you a chance to win great prizes. Following Casino Night, residential students will gather for residence hall meetings for their individual floors.
Breakfast will greet you in the Dining Hall the next morning, and then you’ll meet with your FYS advisors to discuss your class schedules. After that, it’s lunch in the Dining Hall; and your Summer Orientation will be complete!
The full Orientation schedule, including the family schedule, is available here as a PDF.
That’s a lot of activity packed into just a few days. Why do we do it? It helps make your transition to campus easier. With the preliminaries out of the way, you can focus on gearing up for class.
Fall is approaching, and the clock is ticking. If you haven’t signed up for Summer Orientation yet, now is the time. Visit http://www.barton.edu/orientation/ to sign up. We look forward to seeing you here!