One of the most important parts of college is making new connections and relationships with the people around you. EMU’s First Three orientation allows incoming freshmen to get a head start on meeting people and becoming comfortable with their new surroundings. The orientation process is crucial in starting your time here.
Moving into college for the first time is incredibly nerve-wracking. You leave everything you know behind for a new place with almost no familiar faces. Getting into groups with the New Student Orientation Assistants (NSOA) gets you acquainted with new people who could become some of your best friends. Within the first week, I met people through this orientation who quickly became my best friends and never leave my dorm. Without the orientation, I think my experience making friends here would have been more difficult.
The activities planned by the NSOA's are designed to help you break out of your shell comfortably around your new peers in a fun way. My group played games like “train wreck” where we had to run across a circle if something was said that applied to us, or we threw a ball around and talked about our favorite things. We were able to find the people we connected with without enduring awkward icebreakers. I feel like I’ve known these people my whole life and it has only been a week. Meeting my group was the best thing that could have happened in the first few days of being on campus.
The orientation also slips in important information for jumping into the world. Attending Close Up, students are given an insight to both the exciting and not-so-exciting parts of college. Close Up discusses topics like drug use, STI’s and safe sex, and mental illness to raise awareness of the serious parts of your life outside of the classroom. It also discusses the LGBTQ+, staying serious in class, and just being a good friend to those around you. In the span of an hour, the program makes you laugh, cry, and takes your breath away. The information presented in Close Up is important in becoming a new adult in the world.
On top of creating a little family of my own, I was able to get a solid understanding of what was around campus. Walking around the campus for three days helps you find your way around much easier and will help in the long run throughout the semester. Without the tours, I’d probably be walking around like a lost puppy trying to find my classes. No one wants to be that freshman wandering around looking confused as ever.
The experience of being a part of First Three made me feel welcome here at EMU. My new friends have already become a family, I don’t miss home as much as I thought and classes are going well so far. I am so thankful I got to attend First Three orientation. I wouldn’t be as happy with college had I not attended and I think it made my transition into my new life much easier.