As a new school year starts up again, a new batch of Doane students begin the process of being integrated into campus via fall orientation. Both freshmen and transfer students arrive on campus early so they can be properly acclimated to the Crete campus; students go on tours around campus, have the opportunity to move in early, meet their new classmates and teammates and are given the opportunity to adjust to a new schooling environment.
However, before new students step foot on campus, orientation leaders arrive even earlier on campus to be trained and prepared for the students to come. They play a key role in helping students find their place at Doane. This orientation process is largely handled by students already at Doane, and for Director of Career, Leadership and Service Development Quint Geis, there’s no one else he’d rather have doing it.
“When we do our training, I am passing the torch to my student leaders. We (administration) have done all this work preparing locations, logistics, structure, and now it’s yours to carry out with these new students. Because fundamentally we can’t connect with every new student, our orientation leaders can,” Geis said.
For Geis, he hopes to empower student leaders because they are far closer to the students experience-wise than those working in administration. While some universities have entire staff positions dedicated to this process of orientation, Geis is reliant on those student leaders he recruits to connect with the new class of ‘28.
“I think a huge part of making the freshmen comfortable is letting them know you are human too. Making them feel welcomed and open to talk to you helps so much with their transition to college. You just have to make them feel like we are all humans and there is no hierarchy at Doane.” Orientation Leader and junior Morgan Smith said.
For Geis, this process of orientation is to ultimately align the new students with the community already present at Doane. In a post-COVID world, Geis feels that many students are longing for a college experience that makes them feel connected and comfortable.
“The students we recruit to Doane want relationships, we have a leg up on other universities in that aspect. We want students to leave orientation understanding the richness in diversity between their peers, the orientation leaders and at Doane itself. We want students to feel like they’re here for more than just a degree,“ Geis said.
All students, new and old alike are now fully back in school with classes starting up and athletics kicking off.
