It was a wet and rainy day on Friday, March 27th as we held our second Successfully Orienting Students session this spring. The day placed a great challenge for our staff and orientation leaders as we had to adjust our plans as a result of the inclement weather. As the day started new students and guests were welcomed in the parking lot with a steady rain. Luckily they did not stay wet for long. Three busses got our students and guest to the new student center and into the ballroom for breakfast and War Eagle Welcome quickly. Our Dean of Students Dr. Johnny Green welcomed the students and guests to Auburn University. After War Eagle Welcome everyone headed to their small group sessions and met the orientation leaders. During small group session one our 450 students, parents, and guests learn important information about the university. After small group session one everyone was presented with the opportunity to choose two concurrent sessions in which they could learn more about things like financial aid or campus involvement. Those two sessions were particularly packed as parents flocked to financial aid and students filled the seats to learn about our campus organizations and clubs. After concurrent sessions, students went to learning for life, the presentation dealing with campus diversity, and tigeri, our preparing for registration session. From there everyone headed to lunch.
Another interesting facet was the transition of lunch from outside at Cater Lawn to inside in the Foy Ballroom. Students and guests enjoyed a lunch from Chic-Fil-A and got ready for the rest of their day. After lunch students and guests met back with their groups and went to small group session two. By this time the sky had cleared up and everyone got the opportunity to walk outside and take a campus tour on their way to advising. Although the rain presented interesting challenges for the day, SOS was an extremely fun day that went very well.