Applying to be an Orientation leader was one of the best decisions I've made while at Covenant. Got to move in a week and a half before most returning students and even more cool, I got to know a ton of really awesome people!
Monday was a long, exhausting day! We had the Mills Maze where we had to direct all the freshman through Mills to do all their financial aid and paperwork and stuff. I kept reminding all of them that passed me to smile. ☺ Monday night we had our Chattanooga night! After our rendezvous in Ashe gym, we loaded up on school buses and left for Coolidge Park where all the O-teams dispersed to various restaurants. Ours had the very good fortune of going to Taziki's, a Greek restaurant with delicious gyros and fresh fruit! I had never been there before and it was awesome! I think our O-team really loved it too! We showed them around Chattanooga a bit by the river and we took a group picture (maybe I'll add it later but I don't have it). Malcolm even jumped into the river and then we saw the no swimming sign! Oops. Next we loaded up the buses and drove up the mountain to Rock City! And we didn't have to pay! It was so beautiful. The view from there, being able to see seven different states, is incredible. After the busyness of it all....I slept great Monday night.
The freshmen moved in on Friday. It was a blast! Charging to their car, unloading it for them, running to the elevator, dropping their stuff off in their room--all before they even got a room key! Definitely shocked a lot of them! Later on I helped out in the Financial Aid office, which originally I thought would be very boring. But I met some very cool people while they waited in line. I put one dad at ease when he asked me why I loved Covenant. I told him it was because of the people and the community. Saying goodbye to his daughter must have been awful, but I hope I helped make it easier. Got to hear lots of stories of why people came to Covenant. Either they heard of it from a friend or they googled Christian colleges and came across it. How cool!
Friday evening was our first time meeting with the 11 kids that would be in our O-team. My partners were Chris and Anna (they're both awesome) and we were worried our first meeting would be awkward since none of them knew each other. It was anything but awkward! We played the toilet paper game where you take as many pieces of toilet paper as you want, even though you don't know why, and you have to say a fact about yourself for every single one. Good ice-breaker. They all seemed really cool and chill. Dr. Davis stopped by and talked to them for a long time too. I wish my professor had introduced himself to us like that during my freshmen orientation! Right away I could tell that this was going to be a good group.
Saturday night was Shadowlands Showdown! A huge field day where all 23 O-teams compete to become the winner of the Flying Scotsman. My team got so pumped for it! We all wore black and then got a blue handprint on our faces to make us really tough (I wasn't too excited about putting my handprint on everyone's face but oh well). I wasn't so sure about our group of philosophy majors (yes I was with philosophy majors of all things), and it especially didn't help that we lost the very first game! We just had to dribble a soccer ball from one cone to the other and, well, we just didn't do that great. Sigh. That didn't come anywhere close to ruining our night, though, as we won the next three games we had to participate in! And by won, I mean won by a lot. Everytime. Could not lose. That type of winning. Won by so much in one game that I thought maybe we had done something wrong. But none of those games really counted because then we had the Flying Scotsman relay!! We tied in the fourth heat and were freaking out!! We were jumping up and down and screaming more than anyone else that we had made it to the final round! Maybe my little group of philosophy majors had a chance! For the first few events in the relay we were behind by maybe one or two spots. Very nerve-wracking. It literally came down to the last event. The six-person pyramid with every member singing "All for Jesus" as fast as possible! We had been practicing the words all night and sang it at lightning speed and we won by approximately one second!! What?? That's right! We WON!! We were all jumping around screaming like crazy! I was so pumped! We got our picture taken while all the 22 other teams walked sadly back to campus. We won!! I told almost every single person that night. What a great O-team bonding experience ☺
Sunday afternoon was when all the O-teams went to eat at a professor or alumni's house. As Dr. Davis's wife was sick, he decided to take us to Mr. T's for pizza instead. Rather than going straight there, though, he took us to Sunset Rock--one of the most beautiful places on the mountain where you can see everything for miles and miles off the mountain. It is so beautiful. We all sat and talked for about half an hour just soaking in the beautiful view--what better way to get ready for some pizza?
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| Matt, Malcolm, Nathan, me, Chris, Hunter, Kevin, Sam, James, Ben, Sydney, Lauren, Anna, Spooky. |
Sunday afternoon was when all the O-teams went to eat at a professor or alumni's house. As Dr. Davis's wife was sick, he decided to take us to Mr. T's for pizza instead. Rather than going straight there, though, he took us to Sunset Rock--one of the most beautiful places on the mountain where you can see everything for miles and miles off the mountain. It is so beautiful. We all sat and talked for about half an hour just soaking in the beautiful view--what better way to get ready for some pizza?
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| Ah, here it is. So beautiful. |
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| Hunter and Malcolm wanted to freak us out. It really worked! I had to walk away and not watch them! |
Monday was a long, exhausting day! We had the Mills Maze where we had to direct all the freshman through Mills to do all their financial aid and paperwork and stuff. I kept reminding all of them that passed me to smile. ☺ Monday night we had our Chattanooga night! After our rendezvous in Ashe gym, we loaded up on school buses and left for Coolidge Park where all the O-teams dispersed to various restaurants. Ours had the very good fortune of going to Taziki's, a Greek restaurant with delicious gyros and fresh fruit! I had never been there before and it was awesome! I think our O-team really loved it too! We showed them around Chattanooga a bit by the river and we took a group picture (maybe I'll add it later but I don't have it). Malcolm even jumped into the river and then we saw the no swimming sign! Oops. Next we loaded up the buses and drove up the mountain to Rock City! And we didn't have to pay! It was so beautiful. The view from there, being able to see seven different states, is incredible. After the busyness of it all....I slept great Monday night.
Tuesday was the day returning students came back! Yay! The campus was finally full. As it should be. Tuesday night was the O-show which is a favorite of returning students. I was really nervous to be in a skit in front of the whole school! But I was just a mom bring my kid to college and so then I was done. Skits are hard to describe so I won't even try. But ours was awesome. Top three for sure.
And thus concludes the O-team week.
What an experience. The week was so busy and every hour of our time was spent just in preparation for the freshmen. It's really cool doing everything just for them. And they have no idea. Last year I had no idea how much work was put into our arrival. It's amazing. And the kids on my O-team...well...I love them!! They're all so great and I already miss hanging out with them every day! I want to reunite and hang out because they're all so great and I want to be friends with them all! What an experience to be so self-less and give up all my time helping them adjust, meeting them for lunch, competing in ridiculous field day games, reminding them of placement exams, high-fiving them just because I'm walking past them, and trying to remember where every single one of them was from.
So thankful to God for giving me this opportunity and letting me meet these really cool people.
