UM Orientation Leader Blake Weiss takes a selfie.
So you think you know a lot about the University of Mississippi campus and its history? Enough to be an orientation leader?
Orientation leaders must know almost everything about campus and the university, because it’s their job. The process to hold one of the few, highly-coveted positions is not for the faint of heart. It begins in the middle of the fall semester.
Once all the applications are in, the real process begins.
“There are two interviews,” said Blake Weiss, senior psychology major and orientation leader. “The first is a large group interview and then you move onto your own individual interview.”
After they go through their interviews, the only thing left is to do wait for the results. They are notified about their selection before they leave for winter break.
“We hit the ground running spring semester,” Weiss said, “we have training once a week for about two hours. It is basically like a class, but we learn about the university and our new job.”
Once finals are over, the orientation leaders get the weekend off to catch their breath, and then the real fun begins. For two weeks they go through intensive training to ready for orientation.
“We start early in the morning and we don’t get done until 10 at night sometimes,” Weiss said.
Once the incoming freshman get on campus, training is over and it’s time to give them their first real taste of Ole Miss.
“The first day is for all the fun stuff. It is our job to make sure the new freshman actually know someone on their first day of class,” Weiss said.
Day two of orientation is set up to meet with advisors and get your first ever college class schedule.
Parents, don’t worry though. There’s a time for you also. There’s a panel of orientation leaders and parents are able to ask any questions they like.
“We really try not to sugar-coat our answers,” Weiss said. “We are blunt, but parents should know the truth about where they are sending their kids. Let’s be honest, there really isn’t anything you could ever find wrong about going to school here.”
Tyler Aberg, an intern in the UM Office of Communications, is a senior journalism major from Franklin, Tenn.