Who takes care of the student orientation leaders we ask to take care of everyone else?
I work with orientation professionals every day.
And if there is one group of people I don’t think gets enough credit for what happens during orientation and Welcome Week, it’s their student leaders.
Think about what we ask of them.
Show up early.
Stay late.
Know the schedule.
Learn the campus.
Lead the group.
Answer the same question for the 30th time like it’s the first.
Help the student who is nervous.
Reassure the parent or supporter who doesn’t quite want to let go.
Notice the student standing by themselves.
Adapt when something changes five minutes before it happens.
Bring the energy when everyone else is running out of it.
And somehow, in the middle of all of that, help another student begin to think:
I might belong here.
That’s a lot to place on the shoulders of a college student.
Over the years, I’ve heard orientation professionals talk about the incredible students who make their programs possible.
I’ve also heard about the other side.
Exhaustion.
Stress.
Mental health.
The student leader who is taking care of everyone else while quietly dealing with something themselves.
The challenge of preparing a group of students for one of the most visible and demanding roles on campus.
And the responsibility orientation professionals feel for taking care of them too.
Peer leaders can play an incredibly meaningful role in another student’s experience. Helping roles can also carry emotional demands of their own.
That doesn’t make student leadership a problem.
Quite the opposite.
For many students, these roles create friendships, confidence, purpose, leadership skills, and memories they’ll carry long after graduation.
It just means the people doing this work deserve the same intentionality we put into the students they’re helping.
So today, I don’t want to talk about technology.
I want to recognize the people.
To the orientation leaders, peer mentors, student coordinators, ambassadors, and every student leader who helped welcome a new class this year:
Thank you.
Thank you for the early mornings.
The long days.
The patience.
The energy.
The conversations nobody else heard.
The problems you solved before anyone knew there was a problem.
And especially for noticing the student who needed someone to notice them.
Orientation professionals know how important you are.
I’ve been fortunate enough to see it through them for more than 25 years.
And I think the rest of us should know it too.
While you’re helping everyone else find their way, we should make sure we’re helping you find yours.
