My position allowed me the opportunity to give back to my campus through welcoming the incoming class of 2022 by serving as an orientation leader. Through this role, I was able to continue to develop my leadership skills, as well as find fufillment through being a role model for underclassmen. Working as a summer orientation leader also allowed me to have fun through focusing on recreation and involvement.
What I wish was different
A piece of my experience during my time as an orientation leader that I wished would've been different would be more transparency within the workplace. This aspect can translate in terms of being more clear with our pay rate, as well as the hours we were allowed to work. Initially, we were refused to be paid overtime whenever we went over our timesheet. Our pay would be constricted in order to stay under the eighty hour bi-weekly work limit. Eventually, this issue was resolved, but caused much initial stress during the beginning of the summer.
Advice
Being an orientation leader requires a lot of patience and willingness to commit to providing quality service to not only incoming students, but the university as a whole. Your patience will be tested in terms of managing student attitude, punctuality, and enthusiasm. However, you will also gain perspective on what it means to put others above yourself and realize how far your work ethic must go to provide a smooth student transition, even when things don't always go according to plan. I fully anticipate returning as an O.L. in the summer of 2019.
