Thomas - Week 3 - MSU Admissions

So as many of you know, I did not attend Mississippi State for my undergraduate career. Needless to say, I have never experienced MSU Orientation. Until now.

As I have mentioned before, the month of June serves as Orientation month for the campus of MSU. The entire Admissions staff devotes their full attention and energy to making sure these sessions go off without a hitch.

Last Thursday started the last of the four orientation sessions for the month. Back to back. Thursday for transfers, Friday and Saturday for freshmen, Monday (today) and Tuesday is the last freshmen session, and Wednesday is the conclusion of the season with the last transfer session.

As I arrived for my first day of duty (at 7 AM, by the way), I honestly had NO idea what to expect. Molly assigned me to work with Brooke Collins and Olivia Huffington during registration. The three of us greeted families and students into the ballroom and directed them to the appropriate line to get all of their materials needed for the day.

Once I saw the magnitude of the students and families that were just attending this ONE session, my mind was completely blown. I knew MSU was a big school. I knew these Orientation sessions were a big deal. But I don’t think one can every truly understand until it is experienced firsthand.

Registration concluded and Molly directed me to Lee Hall so I could experience the general assembly. Throughout the assembly, especially during the skit and President Keenum’s speech, I had quite a few thoughts running through my mind. First of all, I was feeling nothing short of excitement for these freshmen who are about to embark on one of the most exciting journeys of their lives. Secondly, I was proud to be a part of this great university. And finally, I was thinking community college what? Yes, Orientation definitely made me doubt my years of community college even though it was by far the best experience of my life.

For the remainder of my Orientation duty, I was paired with two OL’s – Laura Touchstone and Bryan Snow. The two of them paired up for their Dawg Talk, meaning they combined their two groups of students into one and gave them the rundown on MSU – campus traditions, where to buy books, how to register for classes, life in Starkville… everything the students need to know.

I thoroughly enjoyed my first Orientation experience here at MSU. It was extremely rewarding for me to compare this opportunity to my orientation experiences from ECCC and MUW. I have really enjoyed having a triple comparison… seeing things from three completely different perspectives and how events on a campus can operate so differently. Kind of like aluminum siding? Nah, maybe not.

Megan