LGBTQ incoming students- let's make this a welcoming community

There’s been a lot going on at Rutgers this year regarding LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender) people on campus.  The campus community can be a very welcoming place, but prejudicial attitudes are still present and can lead to tragedy.  Also, as the average age of coming out has decreased dramatically over the past decade, some incoming freshman might be coming from environments where they felt rejected due to their gender identity or sexual orientation, or may be in the process of adjusting to a part of their identity that they’ve just started to share with other people. 

As an orientation leader, you want to make every incoming Scarlet Knight feel welcome and enthusiastic about starting here in the fall, but sometimes it’s difficult to know how to act or what to say.  Students or parents may have questions about university policies and events, or you could be dealing with uncomfortable situations that arise during orientation. 

During your intensive training, you’ll have a workshop providing you with information to help you approach LGBT issues when they arise over the summer.  We’ll talk about some basic concepts to help you understand the different ways LGBT people identify and why, as well as specific information about LGBT life at Rutgers. 

There are some articles on the training site that you should read as a foundation for this workshop.  (I know, I know, your brain is on break from school.  Don’t worry, they’re short and sweet.)

bring your old magazines to training

Hi everyone! We hope you had a great memorial day weekend. The leadership team joins the grads for training this week, and before you know it the whole staff will be back. If you have old magazines at home, please bring them back with you for the 6/13 training week. Thanks all!

A secret revealed!

Hey all!



I'm hanging out at the Livingston Student Center with the new NSO grads. They are super excited to meet the Leadership team and all of the OLs! You're really going to like them....



On another note, I came across a secret scroll in Courtney's office that had some important information on it. Shh! Don't tell her that I stole it! Here's what it says:

Start getting your costumes ready!

Remember Lady Gaga's motto,

"Changing the world one sequin at a time!"

Good day,

Col. Henry Rutgers

move in deets! leadership team edition

EXTRA EXTRA! Read all about your move in details right here!

Arrival at University Center

The entrance to the parking deck is at the back of University Center. If you are proceeding down Easton Avenue and across Somerset Street, you will turn right just before the train overpass onto Little Albany Street. The deck entrance will be around the corner on the right. If you are coming up Easton Avenue from Albany Street (Route 27), you cannot turn left onto Little Albany. You should turn left on Somerset Street and then left again onto Little Albany (by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital) and left into the parking deck. On the scheduled move-in day ONLY, we will arrange for the parking attendant to allow access to the deck for move-in. After that day, the vehicle must be registered in order to enter the parking deck. The entrance to the lobby is accessible from the third level of the parking deck. Residents may be dropped off in front of the building, however please be sure to adhere to all posted signs and parking regulations. Easton Avenue and Somerset Street are not under the University’s jurisdiction and are subject to the laws of the City of New Brunswick.

This weekend...leadership team moves in!

The conference services staff will be on call from 11am-midnight so that you're able to get your keys when you arrive at UC on Saturday or Sunday. They ask that you move in on Saturday or Sunday if possible. A conference services student will be on call all day Monday if someone needs to move in on Memorial Day. 


We start training at 9am on Tuesday!!! Who is excited???

Questions, comments?! Leave a comment below.

meet the new dream team...Alyssa and Nina!

Every two years the New Student Orientation office goes through a selection process for College Student Affairs graduate students to work in assistant-ships with Kristin and Courtney. The past two years we spent with Amanda Steeber who worked on projects like coordinating educational session assignments, the January transfer program and the resource fair among many other projects. Get to know the TWO new members of the NSO office. Alyssa will be working with Kristin primarily on preparations and implementing the summer orientation program. Nina will work with Courtney on coordinating training, assessment and selection of staff. Both will begin their assistant-ship this summer to work on some special projects and learn the ins and outs of NSO.

Meet Alyssa!

Undergraduate Degree from: Rutgers University  

Current Graduate School: Graduate School of Education           

Favorite TV Show: Modern Family

Favorite Book: The Harry Potter series          

Least favorite word: Screech   

Favorite Vacation: I can't pick just one: cruise to Bermuda or trip to Jamaica

Last concert you went to: Brand New           

Last movie you saw: Insidious  

Her message to our staff:

I look forward to meeting everyone. It's going to be a great summer!

*Nina had no idea about the color teams when she picked her photo for the blog, no calling favoritism people!! She will love you all!

Meet Nina!

Undergraduate Degree from: University of North Texas 

Current Graduate School: Rutgers University         

Favorite TV Show: How I Met Your Mother

Favorite Book: The Five People You Meet in Heaven        

Least favorite word: Can't         

Favorite Vacation: Thailand/Vietnam

Last concert you went to: Brandi Carlile       

Last movie you saw: Water for Elephants    

Her message to our staff:

As a typical Texan...Howdy! I look forward to meeting y'all! :)

another grad staff member...meet Jack!

Meet another wonderful members of the NSO 2011 grad staff team. Check out a little bit about what he will be up to this summer, and more about him below.

• Assist with the implementation of the Parents Orientation program

• Manage all aspects of the Resource Fair with professional staff

• Complete assessment of Parents program

• Organize all logistics of optional campus tours

• Finalize Scarlet Knight Days publication information

• Co-coordinate various Orientation staff morale events

• Attend and host evaluation meeting after every orientation session

• Various other tasks as assigned by professional staff

 

 

Meet Jack!

Undergraduate Degree from: Rutgers University  

Current Graduate School: Rutgers University --- School of Communication & Information          

Favorite TV Show: 30 Rock (all time fave is Arrested Development)

Favorite Book: The Wayward Bus by John Steinbeck        

Least favorite word: I can't (yes it's a phrase, but you get the drift)     

Favorite Vacation: Wherever there's sand and water --- wait I'm living that now since I moved back to NJ!

Last concert you went to: The Ribeye Brothers      

Last movie you saw: The King's Speech         

His message to our staff:

Hi!

Meet the Grads: Our Second NODA Intern...Nikki Lynne!

Nikki and Roderick were both selected through the NODA internship selection and matching process. Nikki will be managing the following aspects of our program...

• Work with professional staff registration coordinator to manage all rosters and housing assignments
• Manage check in process
• Handle drop-ins/no shows
• Coordinate late check-in
• Facilitate the leave early process
• Manage the Orientation email account
• Facilitate We Are Rutgers program
• Assist professional staff with school based academic components
• Co-coordinate various Orientation staff morale events
• Attend and host evaluation meeting after every orientation session
• Various other tasks as assigned by professional staff

Looks like Nikki is our 79th staff member that loves Harry Potter...I think she'll find a few others that do too. Don't you? Find out a little more about Nikki below.

Meet Nikki Lynne!

Undergraduate Degree from: The Catholic University of America        

Current Graduate School: University of Maine       

Favorite TV Show: Dawson's Creek, Sex and the City, Glee, Downtown Abbey, & Gossip Girl

Favorite Book: Harry Potter Series, Gone with the Wind     

Favorite Vacation: Anywhere with a beach and warm weather!

Last concert you went to: Lady Gaga Monster Ball           

Last movie you saw: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt. 1          

Her message to our staff:

Hi Everyone, I am very excited to be working at Rutgers this summer and getting to know each of you! I hope your finals finished well and you are going to take the next couple weeks to relax and get ready for NSO! One fun fact about me: I am a HUGE Philadelphia Phillies Phan! See you all soon, Nikki

what do hip hop, Broadway and the Heldrich all have in common?

What do hip hop, Broadway and the Heldrich all have in common? Well in some way shape or form they have found their way into our unique intensive training weeks for the different parts of our staff. We know what the OLs will be up to, but what about grads, leadership team and PCs? Find out with a look at some highlights below.

• Grad training is very much an orientation to the department of student life and a lot of networking and meeting the people that make orientation happen. Our grads will essentially learn the orientation program through interviewing the partners that contribute to it. They will also do a true colors workshop to get them up to speed with the rest of the staff that had true colors at retreat. Lastly they doing two pretty cool trainings that essentially "fell into our lap" as they were scheduled during grad training week. They will attend a social justice workshop called "hip hop pedagogy" with a well known author and speaker on social justice and the hip hop culture/community. In addition, they will attend a "presenting with video/multimedia" presentation through our HR department at RU.

• Leadership team comes the following week to join up with the graduate staff. This week is very much about building a cohesive leadership unit to lead our staff through the summer. Their training week will include a lot of projects they will work on to prep for the OL intensive training week. In addition they have two special experiential trainings. Since NSO is a lot like putting on a Broadway show, and they are a lot like the stage crew and directors of the Broadway show…we’re heading to Broadway! Our leadership team and grads will go to the Wicked rehearsal space to spend some time with stage crew and actors from the show. They will learn the ins and outs of logistically putting on a Broadway show. There next stop in NYC is a backstage tour of radio city music hall. Then (thanks to our friends at RU-TV) we were able to set up a back stage tour of NBC studios and Q&A with some crew members with NBC. We’ll finish the day with a “Top of the Rock” tour, which is a tour of the top of the Rockefeller center observatory. In addition to our stint in the big apple, this team will head to St. Peters Hospital for a half day behind the scenes look at the ER. This will give some perspective to making quick decisions under pressure and how to manage crisis.

· PC Training is probably one of the most unique types of trainings we do. The PC’s also have one of the most unique jobs with us for the summer. Not many other orientation offices at other universities hire student team members to manage the office and logistics like our PCs. This week will be chalked full of learning all the different rosters, checklists and name tag protocol that we have to prep for each session. In addition, it is important to equip our PCs with an extra dose of “customer service” training so they are comfortable handling just about any phone call they get. We have a special guest, the current front office manager at the Heldrich, which will be coming in to do a customer service/phone etiquette training with our PCs.



training...to be the best!

The concept of training can take many forms. Marathon runners do cross training, running and weight training to prepare for their 26 mile marathon run. They practice running in a variety of different conditions, use different trails, and change their workout as they get closer to the race. When new employees start in just about any job there is an "orientation" to building they work in, tools they use and people they work with. Orientation intensive training is kind of like this as well. For example, we teach the staff Team Meeting one and then throw new scenarios in the practice runs of it and give feedback on practice runs. So by the time you have to do Team Meeting one you are prepared for just about anything. 

OL intensive training will use varying forms of facilitation and presentation methods to teach the OLs each and every part of the two day program. Some parts of the program will be taught in 4 part rotations where the staff will rotate from location to location to learn a different part of the program. We call these “round-a-bouts”. Some other parts of the program are taught with simulations of the actual program component. The gameshow training will be a simulation of the actual gameshow. There are a few other topics that need more time than just a class in the spring, or need a facilitator that was unable to present in the spring. And so there are a few topics spliced into intensive, like sensitivity training, protocol and problem solving, as well as disability training.

Meet the grad series continues...Meet Catrina!

Catrina is taking the campus tour to a whole new level! Take a look at what she will manage this summer and get to know her a little better.

• Ensure that students remain at evening events
• Oversee the facilitation of the campus hunt, assist as needed
• Oversee the Orientation Program Closing with Leadership Team member
• Ensure that all students have left residence halls at the end of the program
• Oversee the welcome program
• Co-coordinate various Orientation staff morale events
• Attend and host evaluation meeting after every orientation session
• Various other tasks as assigned by professional staff

Meet Catrina!

Undergraduate Degree from: Boston College         

Current Graduate School: Rutgers University         

Favorite TV Show: Survivor

Favorite Book: Harry Potter Harry Potter Harry Potter!!

Least favorite word: oaf, loaf, anything else that rhymes with those  

Favorite Vacation:  Cancun (3 times!)

Last concert you went to: Lady Gaga!! and the Backstreet Boys right before that... no joke       

Last movie you saw: In the theater - Little Fockers, At home - Matilda :)        

Her message to our staff:

Hello NSO Staff!! I am so pumped to be working with you all this summer. I'm really looking forward to getting to know each of you and to making our summer orientation experience the best it can be. See you all very soon!

dress up, strut, win team points

Imagine for a second, a morning during training that starts with a strut your stuff fashion show for color team points. We are going to get intense for intensive training. On Tuesday June 7th and Wednesday June 8th, we will kick off our day with a "Strut your Stuff" color team challenge. There will be a unique theme for each of the days, and the staff will come to training dressed for that theme.The first theme is pictured below. This will be our theme for June 7th.

 

Judging will be based on spirit, closeness to theme and creativity. Our wonderful summer graduate staff will serve as judges for these challenges. The theme for June 8th will be posted in the upcoming weeks. Comment to leave us a song request for your team's fashion show "strut".

let's meet another grad today...meet Roderick!

Coming to us all the way from Florida International University in Miami Florida, Roderick is one of our two NODA interns. NODA is the professional association for orientation professionals, and one of their initiatives is placing graduate students with orientaiton programs for internships. Roderick will be overseeing the following this summer....

• Facilitate the Educational Sessions
• Assign students to specific educational sessions
• Manage the Program Coordinators (4 total)
• Facilitate office operations
• Manage game show logistics 
• Attend and host evaluation meeting after every orientation session
• Oversee all aspects of implementing a new multi-dimensional communications plan; includes identifying unique and innovative channels of communication and using intentional strategies that ensure all staff members are receiving accurate information and updates in a timely manner
• Co-coordinate various Orientation staff morale events
• Various other tasks as assigned by professional staff

Here is a little bit about Roderick...feel free to leave questions or comments for him :O)

Meet Roderick!

Undergraduate Degree from: Northwestern State University   

Current Graduate School: Florida International University         

Favorite TV Show: F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Favorite Book: Purpose Driven Life    

Least favorite word: supercalifragilisticexpialidocious      

Favorite Vacation: Destin Beach, FL

Last concert you went to: Hinder and Breaking Benjamin          

Last movie you saw: Madea Big Happy Family        

His message to our staff:

I am pumped to start working with the NSO staff this summer. I am all about creating positive relationships with exciting up beat people. This summer is going to be an incredible experience getting the practicum experience at a school like Rutgers. It is different from any other school I have been able to attend or visit. Also, I am ready to making a positive change in the lives of the first year students and better prepare them for an exciting fall.

meet the grads: adam carlson

 So as you may have noticed Summer Orientation is a pretty big undertaking. In an effort to handle the daily troubleshooting, supervision of such a large student staff, and manage evening programming and staying over in the halls we hire a team of graduate staff members just for the summer months. This not only benefits us, but  the graduate staff members also gain some great experiences as well. As you will soon see from their bios, this is a diverse graduate staff with varying interests, backgrounds and they come to us from all over the country.

Below is our first grad to be highlighted on the blog. His name is Adam Carlson. Adam will be managing the following aspects of the program while he is here with us for the summer...

•        Organize transfer programs
•        Collect and organize assessment data for entire Orientation Program
•        Oversee the newly created staff feedback process
•       Facilitate Life on Campus Program for each Orientation Sessions
•       Assist with Dress Rehearsals
•       Ensure that Orientation Leaders are in Multipurpose Room for opening
•       Co-coordinate various Orientation staff morale events
•       Attend and host evaluation meeting after every orientation session
•       Various other tasks as assigned by professional staff

Above is a picture of Adam, and below is a little more about him...enjoy! Feel free to leave comments or questions for Adam :)

Meet Adam!

Undergraduate Degree from: Rutgers University  

Current Graduate School: Rutgers - Graduate School of Education     

Favorite TV Show: Any UFC and Boxing matches.

Favorite Book: The Book of 5 Rings    

Least favorite word: Possum    

Favorite Vacation: Philippines Winter '09!

Last concert you went to: Casual Harmony at Rutgers     

Last movie you saw: Rocky IV - CLASSIC!      

His message to our staff:

This is going to be a great summer!  I'M SO PUMPED!

graduation....from NSO training

This year the NSO staff will come together on Thursday June 16th the final official day of training before starting the summer for a graduation dinner and premier leadership panel. As a treat to you all, we have been working to bring in leaders from a variety of industries to come and speak about their leadership experiences in a panel format. This a phenomenal opportunity for you all to network with some amazing people. Below is a sneek peek at one of our 4 panelists...

Whenever a big-name baseball player signs with a major league team, the image that makes the front page of the sports section and the top of the evening news is always the same. At a crowded press conference, engulfed by reporters and photographers, the athlete smiles through a blaze of flashbulbs and holds up—what else—his brand new jersey. Majestic Athletic Wear Limited holds the exclusive rights to supply on-field uniforms to all 30 major league baseball clubs.

Faust E. Capobianco IV is the former president and CEO of Majestic Athletic, and a member of the leadership panel for your graduation! Here is a little bit more about Faust... (pronounced fost, like cost with an f)
Faust graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 1994 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Upon graduation, he began his career with Majestic Athletic - a business then owned and operated by his family - as the company's director of licensing. In this capacity, he managed licensing agreements with professional sports leagues and major universities. His role grew to include key account sales responsibilities, including broader distribution of the company's products in the U.S. and internationally. In 1998, Faust was named senior vice president and was charged with the administration of all company operations in sales, product development, marketing and licensing. In 2001 he became president, and stayed in that role until 2007. Here are a few other fun facts about Faust...


Favorite Vacation Spot:  New Jersey Shore

Favorite Sport:  Baseball

Favorite Team:  Notre Dame

Favorite Hobby:  Golf

Favorite Quote:  "The harder you work, the luckier you get."

Your childhood dream:  To play football at Notre Dame

Biggest Accomplishment to Date:  Earning Major League Baseball's global authentic apparel licensing rights

Describe yourself in two words:  Passionate, Uncomplicated

Early mentor helpful to your career:  My father, Faust Capobianco III

People you admire the most:  My parents and my wife

Biggest life lesson:  Your relationship with family is what matters most in life. Keep that balance and everything else becomes easier.

What unique experiences?! Comment with some questions you have for Faust. I will make sure he has them ahead of time.

RU READY?! .....for intensive training

Thats right, if you thought, the class, retreat and in-services were good wait until the ultimate culmination of NSO training...INTENSIVE TRAINING! We begin in June 6th at 12pm with a little reunion lunch and brief overview of training.Following lunch and for the first week of training, we will spend time learning the parts of the two day program that require intensive training and multiple practices. On Monday afternoon, all day Tuesday and all day Wednesday the Orientation Leaders and Leadership Team will be in Life On Campus (LOC) training. Your trainers are experienced actors, and LOC training is always a lot of fun. Look for a later post on this blog highlighting the 2011 LOC Trainers, giving some fun background info about them. Thursday is a full day dedicated to learning the tour. You will be out on your campus learning all of the talking points, and practicing your "story telling". Friday June 10th and June 17th are both APA days so all staff will be working the APA day just like we do in May.

Ok, so you mentioned the OLs and OTLs...what about the PC's?! The Program Coordinators (PCs) will spend Monday-Wednesday in their very own PC training. You all will learn the ins and outs of your job for the summer, the office, and skills you'll need to be successful PCs. Look for a future post or posts highlighting some of the cool things we will be doing for PC training.

More info still to come...

What is still to come on the NSO wisdom blog:

• More information about the second week of intensive training
• Who will be on the Premiere Leadership Panel for your "training graduation dinner"?
•  Meet the LOC trainers
• Meet the graduate staff
• How your team can and will win team points
• Strut your stuff theme days- a color team challenge
• Other details and information about your arrival back into New Brunswick
• and much more...