New Student Orientation!

This year, I had the pleasure of being an Orientation Captain, joining about 200 of my fellow Fordham Rams in welcoming the new freshmen. As a Captain, my job was to help the other Orientation Leaders with leading their small groups of freshmen.  During the third week of August, we Orientation Leaders and Captains took part in fun-filled training activities. This training was led by the Orientation Coordinators, who are current Fordham students, and involved listening to lectures from various Deans, coordinators of different campus organizations and services, and a talk from Father McShane. One of the main highlights of NSO Training was a talk given by motivational speaker Mark Wayshak, who put forth the ideas he addresses in his book titled "Breaking All Barriers."  The talk was extremely exciting, and we each broke a wooden board! Before breaking it, we were asked to write our goals or things that often hold us back on it so we can help ourselves to achieve this goals and break these barriers. Other parts of training included having meals together and competitions among different groups of Orientation Leaders and Captains in order to facilitate bonding among the staff.

              Thankfully, we did not get a visit from Hurricane Irene this year (last year was quite different!), so on Sunday, August 26th, we all woke up at 6 AM and brought our bright and smiling faces to the various residence hall  As cars filled with freshmen, their families, and all of their boxes and suitcases, we OLs cheered and shouted the names of the freshmen and ordered their parents to not leave their cars until we gladly took everything out of their cars and brought them in from of their rooms.

          After the freshmen were moved in and their families tearfully said goodbye, they were put into various small groups led by us, OLs. In these groups, we answered any burning questions they had, took them on a tour of campus, had icebreakers, and enjoyed a candle-lit ceremony in front of Keating Hall to formally welcome them to the Fordham family. Orientation lasted for the next two days until classes began on August 29th. 

              This year's events were a testament to the fact that NSO just keeps getting better and better each year. From fan favorites like Ed Geraghty and "Real World's" Mohammad Bilal to new events such as a carnival on Murphy Field, NSO was a success. 

              Welcome Class of 2016!!!