Orientation: Enlightenment of Developing and Enriching an Environment in the Heart of Dixieland Delight

The Highlight of My College Experience at Auburn University

Camp.

Outside of my Orientation role and before 2019 there was no question that I would’ve been referring to the 2019 Met Gala, which we chatted about later in the "Weagle Workers" job search line, but I’m talking about Bermuda shorts, a bright orange polo, a brown leather belt, and the biggest smile any worker, namely one at Auburn FYE, can possibly have while doing work. hard work. And oh how much I have learned wearing that magnetic nametag. About the "Loveliest Village on the Plains". About the loveliest people in one place. And about the loveliest person, I could hope to look in the mirror and face.

There is often a realm of wisdom in life that so many wait for decades to delve into, and I was given more in a year than most can glean in a lifetime. I can say so honestly and truly, it has made the world of a difference: in unearthing unfounded respect for the environment created by the people around me, and a confidence that just as much as we were building the family we all find in Auburn, AL from the 1.478 million bricks up, my fellow men were building me up. And the solid and fortifying cement between each brick and body has solidified and satiated every heart and soul stepping foot on this campus this fall. And from a pedantic and impatient mind embodied in a mold that was impenetrably misshapen in my scope and sight, I too have sequestered a sense of sanity and serenity of mind and body after years of only hoping to one day find that I had a spirit that was unafraid to allow myself to feel and form that. I have seen the power of a process and trusting in it because it has protected a legacy that has provided the realm of righteous growth for every person that’s participated in a piece of it. And professionalism that’s permeated the right of every person to partake in that privilege. I have held the hand of so many that will continuously shape that infamous silhouette under a beautiful sun-kissed sky, and I have been wrapped in the arms that have believed I could be just as great. Not only allowing me to leave a fingerprint in that Auburn family tree but have given me rings of eloquence and refinement, never rejecting or redefining whom they could see I was meant to be.

My own experience working with the First-Year Experience Orientation team is a true testament to the human touch revealed after years of revoke. I found a sense of home and community, and a sense of freedom in finding that intimate and all-encompassing bond of friendship and family through it. And the most profound and precious of people have taught me what it looks like to do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with my God, and what it feels like to be fully and earnestly immersed in receiving that just mercy humbly and worthily. And because the Auburn men and women of FYE taught me those things, I believe in Auburn and love it, and believe in myself, and love the person they’ve shaped me to be. That’s only scratching the surface of my gratitude and the gravity that a single environment can so positively change a life, but I will never be able to say "thank you" too much.

Upon reflecting, I allowed the resonance of my time working in Orienting incoming students and translating that tradition in innovative ways to be maintained and grown through the lens of the Auburn Creed. As we always said in the First-Year Experience Office which became a family and entity where those deepest Auburn truths were fostered and created a home for alumni, for me, and for every future graduate:

It Means More.

Though it is technically mandatory for incoming-freshmen at any university to attend orientation, Auburn’s orientation known as "Camp War Eagle" is truly different and translates that required feeling into inspired future-college students. The entirety of Auburn’s first-year experience is so well constructed and well-oiled in continuously improving that there is a reason behind it being a continually nationally-ranked top orientation program. There is a whole process. 

The First-Year Experience Office works committedly to collecting the most updated and relevant information and constantly looks for the most effective and impactful ways to translate that for their ultimate customers – the growing members of the Auburn family. Orientation leaders dedicate nearly a year to learning all of the information that parents and students expect to receive, while also developing development materials and being trained to answer all potential questions that fall within the realm of “college readiness” and are prepped to answer a plethora of potential concerns about Auburn and student experience in its entirety. While it is an intensive process, orientation leaders don’t do necessarily view any part of it as a “job”, aside from maybe some paperwork they file through. Students who are passionate about mentoring, guiding, and welcoming more people to the Plains – a place that they love so much – do it just for those reasons. Students and parents come in and experience a conglomerate of emotions that go along with new beginnings, new places, and new stages, and while the orientation leaders’ roles are to be brushed-up an all things “Auburn University Knowledge”, their primary mission is to make students and parents feel warm, welcome, and comfortable. It makes such a difference when a student can come, have a very meaningful and fun interaction with a college student that just wants to get to know them a little bit and transition any nerves they have to excitement and confidence for the step they’re about to take onto campus.

That is why “Camp War Eagle” is so different, and why so many people leave truly enjoying the experience. While students and parents are equipped with all of the knowledge they need to feel prepared and aware of everything to come, they get a sense of the Auburn family. They experience life on the Plains and are made to feel not only welcome but like a thread interwoven already into the wonderful and infamous “Auburn Family”. To be able to not only have confidence in preparedness, but peace and comfort about the resources available at Auburn in both people and potential are pivotal and it is the most impactful way to bring someone into the AU family.

The First-Year Experience excellently executes and engages everyone with that feeling of pointed-excellence, from working with orientation leaders to develop and a top-ranked orientation program, ensuring top-notch training to execute that plan, and translating that genuine interaction and welcoming that can only come from the bottom of the heart.

With that picture painted of the skies of Dixie made more value-reflecting & vibrantly resonant, imagine letting your pom-pom circle and finding your heart coming full circle in the Plains as you give one last energetic pump of the fist with me and join as I say,

"War Eagle, HEY!"