Orientation gives students a meaningful start

Before coming to Maryville College from Muenster, Germany, Jan Hoepper ’09 knew very little about the place that was to become his home-away-from-home. From the College’s website, he knew it was one of the top 10 colleges in the South, and he knew it was a “small college in a little town in Tennessee.”

After completing ORN110: Perspectives on the College, Hoepper not only knows the campus, its policies and procedures, he knows the College’s history and mission. He made some good friends and had a lot of fun. And according to Bruce Guillaume ’76, coordinator for ORN110, that’s mission accomplished. “There’s so much evidence in the realm of student development that says the sooner you can connect students in meaningful ways, the easier their transition and the greater likelihood that they’ll stick around,” Guillaume said. “It’s common sense, actually.”

ORN110, which lasts approximately five weeks, starts with five jam-packed days before the first day of fall semester classes. The course commences with a welcome session in Wilson Chapel. New students, sitting with their Orientation groups for the first time, listen to a brief recounting of the College’s founding by President Gerald Gibson. Dr. Robert Naylor, vice president and dean, follows with a reading of the College’s mission statement. And with encouragement from Dean of Students Vandy Kemp to always begin with the end in mind, students walk across the stage in graduation-like procession to receive a student handbook from President Gibson.

The opening program serves as first steps in achieving the course’s two objectives, which are to introduce new students to Maryville College and to build cohesive groups. “The idea is that the more students understand our mission, the more they can understand all of our institutional actions,” Guillaume explained. “Its OK when students don’t like some of our requirements, but it’s not OK when they ask ‘Why am I doing this?’”

The mission is further emphasized when students read Maryville College: The Founding Story. The 24-page history, which tells the College’s story from 1801 to the mid 1950s, includes interesting stories about MC notables and lesser-known figures who left their mark on the College.

Among the most popular activities of ORN110 is Mountain Challenge, a program headquartered out of Crawford House that provides high-quality safe outdoor experiences that are designed to build teamwork, enhance communication and teach problem-solving skills. Climbing the 55-foot Alpine Tower, struggling through the College’s ropes course and canoeing down a river does a lot to build cohesive groups, Guillaume said.

To further knit groups, students also attend various events together, like campus worship and the Opening Convocation ceremony. They play together in the New Student Olympics and Student Programming Board Luau.

Composed of approximately 15 students each, ORN110 classes are lead by faculty and staff members. Rounding out each group is a Peer Mentor, an upperclassman who has been selected to advise new students and give credible, current student perspective to issues that first-year students discuss.

Bridging ORN110 with FRS120 (which most take concurrently), new students write personal mission statements and create collages that pictorially illustrate the goals they have for their lives. Later, they’re required to attend the College’s annual “Opportunities of a Lifetime Fair” to learn more about campus organizations and envision where and how they might contribute to the life of the College.

ORN110 comes to a close toward the end of September, when all Orientation groups meet outside on the lawn surrounding the Covenant Stone. Before touching the stone, they’re asked to sign the Maryville College Covenant, signifying that they promise to uphold the tenets of scholarship, respect and integrity and that they accept full responsibility as active, knowledgeable and committed members of the Maryville College community.

Years from now, Hoepper knows he’ll remember ORN110 activities like the Covenant Stone Ceremony and the peers he stood next to as peals from the Anderson Hall bell brought the course to a close.

“They were so much fun, and we learned something at the same time,” he said of the activities. “That’s where I noticed that our group really grew together. We tried to handle every task together in order to succeed, and that was great.”