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While each incoming DU student has experienced the fear, rigor and excitement of Discoveries Orientation week, few know the sweat that goes into putting the program together.
Orientation Leaders (OLs) and Discoveries Orientations Interns spent the past summer preparing a new program to welcome DU’s largest incoming class of freshmen and transfer students.
Discoveries Orientation is coordinated through DU’s Student Life division, which oversees the hiring of interns and OLs.
Megan Lyons, who helps direct the program, implemented several changes to the program from what most upperclassmen remeber .
New this year is a streamlined process where incoming students submit their foreign language tests online and complete laptop configuration before arriving at DU.
Additionally, instead of meeting their First-Year Seminar groups on Sunday night, Orientation leaders waited until Monday morning.
These changes allowed incoming students to have additional flexibility to get to know their new classmates and explore DU.
A concert on Monday night, the first night of orientation, and a pep rally were added bonuses for the students to enjoy.
While the OLs spent one less night with their group, they certainly weren’t working any less.
OLs had long days during Orientation week, working from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. daily, with additional hours of on-call duty.
Plenty of time was spent training OLs for this busy week. The application process, which occurred at the end of winter quarter in March, included a recommendation letter, resume and three essay questions, which revolved around the importance of Discoveries and Pioneer pride.
Applicants then faced a rigorous interview with a panel of three to four Student-Life coordinators and Discoveries Orientation interns.
The 95 OLs that were accepted then attended a Spring retreat to prepare them for the months ahead.
OLs arrived a week before Discoveries to train on everything from icebreakers to making name-tags and meal tickets.
Additional training for OLs was included to support students with questions about drinking and sexual assault.
While OLs were encouraged to maintain a professional demeanor and avoid any inappropriate relationships with their students, they were able to connect with them through a new addition to DUTube called “Pioneer Secrets,” in which they shared a secret with their group as a show of trust and equality between all Pioneers.
Student interns were even more involved, working full-time weeks all summer to prepare for the event.
Kevin Bell, an Aurora native and Master’s student at Korbel, interned this year. Bell said that interns planned everything from the hiring of OLs to the activities and food served during Discoveries and that his experience of seeing Discoveries come to life was incredibly rewarding.
Emily Glaser, a senior who has interned with Discoveries for two years and who’s been an OL for one, described the joy of seeing the hard work of orientation pay off.
“The minute I became an Orientation Leader, I really enjoyed the process because I do love DU a lot,” Glaser said.
Additional reporting by Megan Rowe
