Orientation

I don’t even know where to start with orientation. When I think about it, so many different words come to mind: amazing, exhausting, exciting, awkward, terrifying, surprising, incredible, and many more. I couldn’t think of a better way to start off my Stonehill experience. It was extremely fun, but also extremely informative. My small group was amazing. I had two wonderful leaders to my group of dreamboats, Jenna and Ashley. They made us feel really comfortable with each other, so we all got to know one another fairly quickly, both through normal conversation and various games involving hula-hoops and soccer balls.

The initial awkwardness faded away instantly. Throughout the two days we were informed on our “Community Standards,” residence life, and other information we will need to know when we start school in the fall. We also went to an information session on Campus Ministry, which was awesome because that is what I am really interested in being involved in at school. I signed up for pretty much everything there, including the choir. They told me it was not a big deal that my voice is not, well, not the best. My friends from home will definitely be shocked (and terrified) that I am joining a choir, but that just shows how Stonehill gets you to take that step out of your comfort zone. The day was also filled with various games where you got to meet people from other groups like “The Wind Blows,” “Zip, Zap, Boing,” and “Giants, Trolls, and Wizards.” But it was definitely that night where you got to meet the most people. “Playfair” was the big secret of orientation. I don’t want to give anything away to future students, but lets just say its something to look forward to. We were all terrified, but it ended up being my favorite part of orientation. You got to meet pretty much everyone in very interesting ways.

Then the night closed with a dance, which was amazing! We all danced the night away to music that varied from Lady Gaga to Billy Joel. Watching the peer mentors breakout in random choreographed dance was probably the best part. That was the perfect way to end an already amazing day. The next day we had more time to bond with our group, and chat with other kids we had met the night before. We got all signed up for classes, learned how to make the most of our college experience, and began to feel more like real college freshman. Summer orientation has made me so excited for fall orientation where I will be reunited with my fellow dreamboats, where I am sure there will be more renditions of our favorite songs (“heeeeey baby, I wanna knowwww, if you’d be my girl”) and many more laughs. After orientation, I am absolutely positive that I made the right choice coming to Stonehill and I can’t wait for the next four years!!


Group 3!


Orientation roomies!