Orientation Leader Engagement & Award-Winning Staff

March 17, 2023 |

New Student & Family Programs (NSFP) plays a crucial role in welcoming incoming members of the Carolina community and their families. NSFP coordinates orientation, which invites nearly 6000 new undergraduate students along with 4000 supporters and family members to campus each year. During orientation, participants have the opportunity to connect with incoming Tar Heels, receive guidance from faculty regarding academic expectations, and prepare to register for classes. To ensure a seamless orientation experience, NSFP recruits, hires, and trains a team of 30 Orientation Leaders who assist with every session throughout the summer.

Attending the Southern Regional Orientation Workshop

Recently, UNC-CH's Orientation Leaders and two NSFP professional staff members travelled to Florida A&M University in Tallahassee, Florida for the Southern Regional Orientation Workshop (SROW). The event offers valuable professional development opportunities to student leaders from all over the Southern Region who are looking to enhance their leadership skills and prepare for the orientation, transition, and retention work provided at their respective college campuses. At the workshop, participants select from a range of educational sessions to help them support student success with topics such as diversity and inclusion, marketing, assessment, and creative student engagement. SROW provides Orientation Leaders with an excellent opportunity to learn best practices, build connections with peers and professionals, and expand their knowledge within the field of higher education.

Award-Winning Presentations

Christy Carral and Seth Bumgarner, NSFP staff, traveled with Orientation Leaders to Tallahassee. They each developed program proposals that were accepted by SROW and shared their presentations with students in attendance. Workshop organizers awarded their efforts; Accessible Accessibility, presented by Christy Carral, received 3rd place and Give It Up: For Sustainable Leadership, presented by Seth Bumgarner, took 1st place in workshop presentations. These successes reflect the quality of programming and expertise that NSFP brings to the field.

  • Accessible Accessibility, presented by Christy Carral: Have you ever felt unsure about how to support a student with disabilities? This session can help! We'll focus on the ways in which an orientation experience can be more accessible for attendees with different needs and how it all starts with you, regardless of your role. Participants will learn ways we may be contributing to inaccessibility and, more importantly, how we can work to provide an experience that will work for more than just the simple majority. All experience levels welcome!
  • Give It Up: For Sustainable Leadership, presented by Seth Bumgarner: Is your leadership sustainable? What does that mean? Much is required to provide students and families the best welcoming and belonging experience possible. We can all better use sustainable practices to improve our involvement, impact, and ourselves. Together, we’ll work on sustainable leadership, areas of application, plans, and story-share experiences through discussion. This session welcomes any participant, especially curious leaders of all roles and experience levels.

The NSFP staff and Orientation Leaders recognize the valuable opportunity offered by attending SROW, and feel proud and grateful for the continued efforts and excellence that staff brings to training. They look forward to welcoming all of the newest Tar Heels to campus this summer.

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