"How rare and wonderful is that flash of a moment when we realize we have discovered a friend."

When I saw the opportunity to interview a first-year student, like myself, I instantly thought of two of my best friends, Christian and Diana. They met at Orientation and have stayed close ever since. Diana lives across the hall from me and we are sharing an apartment next year. She has been a lifesaver and heart mender time after time. And I have spent more time with Christian in the past four months than I have with most people in my life. He is the ultimate study buddy and friend. I honestly don’t know where I would be without him. They have both become two of the most important people in my life. So I felt I owed them this blog post.

Sara(S): What was your overall opinion on Orientation? Don’t be afraid to be honest

Diana(D): Certain parts, like the health presentations or alcohol videos, should be removed simply because they were common sense and lost my interest along with others. And other parts should be shortened just because they are too long. But having said that I really appreciate the opportunities that it provided me with, especially making friends with Christian.

Christian(C): Orientation was great for information but some of the videos and presentations were a little out of control. I’m not big on icebreakers and there were a lot of them. But Diana is right, it was a great way to get a feel for the school and make a few new friends before the year started.

Diana(D): Yes! The icebreakers seemed very forced. I feel as though there should be other ways to get conversation started. We probably sound like such Debbie-downers! We aren’t I promise!

(S): What is something you experienced at Rutgers that you wish Orientation had taught you?

(C): The first couple weeks of school I really struggled with maneuvering the bus system, especially at night. I wish Orientation told me more about how to get around College Ave at night. But other than that it covered a lot of the things I needed to know for the first semester.

(D): Also, I think Orientation should talk about RUExpress and Meal Swipes more. I was totally unaware about what I could get and where with a meal swipe. And I didn’t realize how much power RUExpress has. That could definitely be added into the program.

(S): Do you think going to Orientation was worth it?

(D): I know people who didn’t go to Orientation and don’t regret the decision at all. But, honestly things would be sosososo different if I didn’t go. I learned about all the resources here, which became really helpful when I least expected it. And most importantly I met Christian, which became the start of a great friend group!

(C): I completely agree. Also I just wanted to add that Orientation is way more effective when the OL is super honest. I really liked my OL because of that

I really think that this interview opened my eyes to another opinion of Orientation and I’m glad that they both were so honest. And I value their opinion and hope I can add their ideas into the way I lead this summer. I think the most important thing I learned from Diana and Christian today was that sometimes the most important feeling to get from Orientation is the feeling of friendship, even it is just one friend. One friend can go a long way in a big, new place.