Continue reading »]]> Well, this will be the last blog you read from Avery, Zach, Jay or myself. Every April our office chooses four new Coordinators and after the May session, the old Coordinators leave and the new Coordinators take office. I would like to congratulate the new Coordinators, Clair Goodson, Samantha Essick, Chase Schmidt and Michael Seale. Their first session will be in August, so if you are planning to attend one of the following sessions you will see them in action.

With this being our last session as Coordinators, it went very smoothly. Even though it was on the warm side (but normal weather for an Alabama summer), it was a beautiful day. Check in and breakfast for went well. Mr. Paul Kittle, Director of Greek Life, welcomed the transfer students and their parents and guests at War Eagle Welcome. After War Eagle Welcome, the students and parents and guests met their Orientation Leaders and were presented with important Auburn information in the first of two small group sessions. Next was the opportunity to attend two concurrent session presentations which ranged from information on financial aid to getting involved on campus, as well as many others. After the concurrent sessions, we had a rotating schedule for the students. Half of the students went to Learning for Life, which is a presentation on diversity, while the other half went to Tiger i, which is a presentation on how to register for classes. Once they went to one session, they then attended the other session. While the students were on the rotating schedule, parents and guests went to Tiger Talk, in which representatives from Tiger Transit, Parking Services, the Medical Clinic and Financial Aid spoke with them.

Once the students had completed the rotating schedule, they then met back with their Orientation Leaders for the second small group session. However, after Tiger Talk the parents and guests had lunch from Barbeque House, an Auburn favorite, on Cater Lawn. After lunch we dismissed parents to their second small group session, while the students then had lunch on Cater Lawn. Ending the day was a campus tour and academic advising.

My experience as a Coordinator for SOS has been nothing short of amazing. When I attended SOS as a transfer student myself, I would have never imagined that a year from then I would be an Orientation Leader and two years later I would be a Coordinator. I have enjoyed working with transfer students for the past year and a half. For each SOS session, I was excited to see a new group of transfer students and was eager to give to them the information they needed to prepare for their transition to Auburn. Again, I have thoroughly enjoyed being a Coordinator and I know the new coordinators will do an amazing job in the following sessions as well!

Continue reading »]]> Many people are worried when they come to Auburn that they can’t find anything they can get involved in.  No worries here!!  With over 300 student organizations there are many ways to get involved on campus.  Also, if you haven’t been to your SOS session yet, we offer a concurrent session (a short segment of the day dedicated to presenting important information about Auburn) strictly on how to get involved on campus.  However, if you’ve already been to SOS, or you have other concurrent sessions you would like to attend, feel free to visit Auburn University’s website dedicated to informing you about the various organizations on campus.  This website can be accessed by going to: https://fp.auburn.edu/stuorgs/

At this website you can view all of the organizations on campus by clicking the “View All” option at the top of the page.  Once the list of organizations appears, you can click on an organization and it will list an overview of it.  For example, if you click on an organization, it lists the meeting location, meeting day and time and the organization’s specific website.  This is a wonderful resource if you are interested in getting involved, but not sure where to start. 

Lastly, a great opportunity to get involved on campus is through our office, Freshman Year Experience/Students in Transition.  The FYE/SIT office selects Camp Counselors (for Camp War Eagle, the Freshmen Orientation Program) every November, Orientation Leaders (for SOS) every January and Parent Counselors (for the Camp War Eagle Parent Program) every February.  This is an amazing way to get to know other Camp Counselors, Orientation Leaders and Parent Counselors, as well as the professional staff working in this office.  Many students who come through SOS (myself included) became an Orientation Leader immediately after starting school at Auburn.  If you would like more information about being a Camp Counselor or Parent Counselor, please visit www.auburn.edu/cwe for the Freshmen Orientation Program, or www.auburn.edu/sos for SOS Orientation Leader information!

Many students attending SOS ask, what will I be doing at an SOS session and most importantly, what should I bring?  These both are very good questions that, even I asked when I came through SOS.  First, I will describe what a student will be doing on a typical SOS day.  During a typical SOS session we generally have Small Group Sessions (SGS) in which you will meet your Orientation Leader.  Your Orientation Leader will present information about things such as eBill, parking, tuition costs, etc.  Also during and SOS Session you will attend Concurrent Sessions, such as Programs for Students with Disabilities, Financial Aid, Get a Job, Get a Life, etc.  After Concurrent Sessions you will attend Tigeri, which is a demonstration for registering for classes.  Lastly, you will go on a campus tour, which ends at academic advising.  After academic advising you are free to go home!

The second question you may have is what should I bring to SOS?  At the beginning of the day, you will receive a packet of information.  This packet includes a Tiger Cub (Auburn’s handbook and a calendar), Tiger Transitions (a book with all the information presented on the day, plus other information), pencil, notepad, etc.  This information is included in a bag, however, many people find it easier to keep it in a backpack because you will be walking around all day and the bag becomes heavy.  However, if you decide not to bring a backpack, all you need is yourself and excitement about coming to Auburn!