Late nights and endless hours spent meeting people sounds like the typical freshman New Student Orientation experience. But the NSO Leaders experience their own personal Renaissance the week before school, too.
Nearly 100 returning students came back to campus on Aug. 15 to begin their training in all-things Pepperdine. Orientation leaders spent time getting to know each other, as well as hearing from President Andrew K. Benton, and familiarizing themselves with International Programs, the Athletics Office, the Convocation Office, Student Government Association, Department of Public Safety and more. The idea is to become experts in the school. For one week, we are all representatives, tour guides, friends and, some, parents.
The days before NSO, leaders refresh their memories with policies, rules, student clubs, courses, professors, IP and anything else, so that they can better answer the burning questions this week, of freshmen and parents alike. In between these meetings, NSO leaders spent time perfecting dance routines, performing a scavenger hunt, practicing unpacking cars and chanting (and learning) the fight song. Orientation quickly becomes about the leaders themselves just as much as it is about the new students.
“Welcome to Pepperdine!” leaders yelled at every car (that they would eventually unpack) that drove onto campus. If you couldn’t find an NSO leader talking up a freshman, you could find him or her telling parents, “I was just going there,” whenever a parent asked for directions. As the first day unwound, NSO leaders regrouped to share stories and laugh at awkward situations that happened throughout the day.
My own experience as an NSO leader was much different than my experience as a freshman going through NSO. I vividly remember driving up to Pepperdine with butterflies in my stomach, along with my sheer embarrassment at the site of wild packs of young people who donned highlighter fanny packs and knee-high socks to step traffic to have a dance party in front of my car. But this time around, as an NSO leader, I thoroughly enjoyed the looks of agony some freshmen gave me when I held a flash mob in front of their car.
As a freshman, I thought I was too cool to go to every NSO activity; some students complained that they feel like they are at summer camp, and at the time, I agreed with them. I didn’t participate in Frosh Follies and I left The New Student Mugging early; however, as an NSO leader, I enjoyed showing students where to go, giving them advice and listening to them freak out over their 8 a.m. classes. It was nice to hear parents of new students tell me that they really appreciated everything the NSO Leaders did. When I was a freshman, I didn’t take time to thank my NSO leaders, and looking back, I wish I had.
Being an NSO leader was much more rewarding than I had anticipated. I went into NSO wanting to meet new people (and was bribed by free food and cool T-shirts). As the week commenced, I realized how lucky I was to get the experience of helping a new student find his or her place — or at least his or her way to the CAC — at Pepperdine.
As published in the Aug. 26, 2013 issue of the Pepperdine Graphic.
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