It is a big gig to be the first person to welcome wide-eyed first-year students to the University. That is the task for Orientation Leaders, the group of University students guiding the incoming first-year class through orientation. Despite the long days and demand of the job, this year’s OLs are excited to help students from near and far acclimate to Grounds.
Orientation takes place every summer from late June to mid-August. During orientation, matriculated first-year students come to Grounds for an overnight stay to enroll in classes, connect to Eduroam and learn about student life resources like Student Health and Wellness and the Gordie Center. More than that, they also begin their college experience, sleeping in a dorm and eating in the dining halls like all first-year students.
Over the course of the summer, OLs lead first-year students through their two-day orientation visit and serve as mentors for the newcomers. With this responsibility in their hands, OLs have to endure a lengthy selection process. After completing an essay-filled application, hopefuls go through two rounds of interviews. According to Orientation and Transition Programs, the resulting team of OLs is made up of warm, collaborative individuals who represent a diverse array of backgrounds and interests.
For Rose McHugh, OL and third-year College student, being an OL was not something she had envisioned at first. While she had heard rumblings of the OL application, it did not strike her to apply until she saw a flyer from OTP about the opportunity — but now, she said, she looks forward to what is to come.
“I applied to be an OL just randomly,” McHugh said. “They had just extended the deadline, so it seemed like a sign. I applied and went through the interview process, and the more I learned about the job, [the more] I was excited about it.”
Meanwhile, for Owen Chatterton, OL and second-year Commerce student, becoming an OL was something he had wanted for much longer. For him, the decision to apply came down to his love for the University, the memory of his own helpful orientation experience and the possibility of being a guiding force for new students, like his OL before him.
“I really just want to share the experience of more first years coming in … hopefully giving them some resolve that they'll be all right, they'll make it,” Chatterton said. “I want to be able to be a window for them to learn what it was like for me and give them the most advice I can.”
While the job can be fulfilling, it is a significant time commitment. OLs are required to be on Grounds for about seven weeks starting June 15. For the first two weeks, the OLs all live together in Tuttle-Dunnington, and they have mandatory training and team building from Monday to Friday. Drew Dillman, OL and third-year College student, said that OLs are trained on orientation programs during these weeks, covering everything that will appear in their jam-packed session schedule.
“We're learning about Hoos Connected, student life resources, enrollment in the College of Arts & Sciences, the Engineering School and in the other schools, the Contemplative Sciences Center and Student Health and Wellness,” Dillman said.
For the remainder of their summer on Grounds, OLs will run seven overnight sessions for the new first-year students from June 30 to July 25, as well as a one-day session for transfer students July 28. OLs will then return back to Grounds a week early before classes in August to lead an orientation session for students traveling a far distance.
While they prepare to lead roughly 4,000 incoming first-year students, this year’s OLs look forward to sharing their experiences with the newcomers and helping them adjust to the University. Being from Arkansas, Dillman said that he hopes to let other out-of-state University students know that they have a home on Grounds.
“As someone who came from an underrepresented state from far away, I wanted to be able to provide that friendly face,” Dillman said. “That experience of ‘I have done well at U.Va., and you can too,’ as well as to just impart the excitement I found.”
Chatterton, similarly, said that he wants to help students who may feel lost. He shared that he felt out of place when he arrived on Grounds for orientation in 2024, but his OL made him feel seen and heard.
“I grew up in a small town, graduated with a class of 70 people … so when I first got to orientation, I was super overwhelmed,” Chatterton said. “But [my OL] made my orientation experience something memorable.”
During the orientation sessions, OLs — with their groups of students in tow — move around Grounds in pairs, which offers them a support system. Despite this, some OLs have trepidations about transitioning full-time into their roles, such as being outgoing enough with their students and ensuring they get adequate rest between sessions. But through these challenges, McHugh hopes to grow more as a person.
“My biggest challenge is not getting burnt out,” McHugh said. “I don't have the highest social battery sometimes, and obviously [being an OL] is a lot of interaction and high energy … I'm excited to meet new people and to make new connections, but I’ll be pushing myself to get out of my shell.”
It is true that OLs are expected to stay energetic and enthusiastic through long work days. When the Class of 2029 comes to Grounds this summer, the OLs will start their sessions at 8 a.m and not finish around 5 p.m. the next day, staying with their students at all times — save for when they are asleep.
However, to make up for such intensive periods of on-the-go work, the OLs get Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays off. As for compensation, each OL receives a stipend of $3,000, free housing, $350 in flex dollars, free use of University gyms and a parking pass.
But at the end of the day, students who take on the challenge of being an OL are not motivated by the benefits or the pay, but by the impact they can have for the new members of the University community. As orientation season approaches, McHugh looks forward to what each session will hold.
“I [am] excited to have the chance to meet the incoming students, get more connected with U.Va. and make some new friends.” McHugh said.
Ultimately, OLs’ goal is to help incoming students find their place at the University and embrace their newfound college independence. As they come to Grounds for orientation, Dillman said he will encourage the Class of 2029 to have faith in themselves and confidently take advantage of the resources around them.
“Take command of your own path. Blaze your own trail,” Dillman said. “There are a lot of resources here, but sometimes you have to take it upon yourself to seek them out.”
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