By Gabrielle Lewis

When the pandemic hit Maryland last year, the University of Maryland Office of Student Orientation and Transition had to jump into a fully online orientation process without much time to prepare — but for this summer, the staff is gearing up for a hybrid model to welcome incoming students to the school.

This summer, new student orientation will mainly take place online through Canvas and Zoom, according to a statement from the office. Incoming students will be asked to complete modules on Canvas prior to orientation that cover topics such as specific colleges, campus safety and financial aid, according to the emailed statement.

Students will also have a chance to participate in a synchronous Zoom orientation where they can talk to an orientation advisor, register for classes and connect with other students, according to the statement.

Andrew Tran, a junior computer engineering major and student coordinator, said the staff wanted to implement some form of online orientation because it was somewhat successful last summer. However, in addition to the online orientation, the staff is waiting for approval on an optional in-person portion called Terp Visit Days.

“It’ll be more focused on UMD traditions and the campus itself, some of the stuff that we can’t really elaborate more on an online version,” Tran said. “It’d be more like a campus tour [and] … more dedicated to meeting more students, student-on-student interaction.”

Additionally, as part of an orientation design project, some students on staff have been gathering feedback from different student communities to create a more inclusive orientation experience.

Auzinea Bacon, a freshman government and politics and journalism double major, is an orientation advisor for summer 2021 and her group chose to interview students in the LGBTQ community. Other groups, such as one that focused on students with disabilities, sent out a survey to gather responses.

Bacon interviewed a friend for the project and said she learned a lot of information about on-campus resources for LGBTQ individuals outside of the university’s LGBT Equity Center, as well as what it’s like to come into college as a member of the LGBTQ community.

Part of the project is to come up with initial thoughts on how to train staff members to support specific populations and what should be involved in the orientation program, Bacon said. For her group, she said staff should continue encouraging people to indicate their pronouns during icebreakers. 

“Outside of the basics of providing resources for those students, it’s almost important to encourage … using your pronouns [during icebreakers], but also not to force people to do something like that,” Bacon said. “It’s something that a lot of people don’t think about on a daily basis and can really go overlooked.”

Isabelle Pula, a government and politics and economics double major and student coordinator, said the orientation staff has already planned out much of Terp Visit Days. University approval is expected around mid-April.

“The schedule is planned for them, what’s happening during them is planned … we just have to have the final go from UMD,” Pula said. “It’s a lot shorter than a traditional program, but it fills in those gaps that were kind of missing last year.”

Even though the format of orientation has changed, Bacon said the staff’s goals are still the same.

“The goals haven’t really changed from previous years,” Bacon said. “We really want to get people involved on campus and affiliated with the campus so that they know what they’re coming into next fall, especially since it will be partially online.”

Featured photo: Office of Student Orientation and Transition staff members. From left to right: Isabelle Pula, Jack Brodrick, Adi Volosov and Rocky Mlodik. Photo courtesy of Isabelle Pula.