unBEARably FUN!

What can be more fun on a Wednesday afternoon (besides Orientation class of course) than taking a field trip to Build-a-Bear?! I know I can't think of anything. Well okay, back to the beginning of the story. A few weeks ago, my color team (shout out to the SILVERWARE!!) needed to choose a place to go for our excursion. We needed to visit a company with a fun work environment and well, unanimously Build-a-Bear was the winner.

As soon as I stepped foot inside I felt like a little kid again; like a child in a candy store. Don't take my word for it, see what Aundrea said about Build-a-Bear:

It was actually my first time inside a Build-a-Bear so I was really excited to go through the process and make a bear! Our team was greeted by an employee there who I could tell loved his job (kinda sounds like the Orientation Leaders, doesn't it?). He told us to pick any bear we wanted and then escorted us to the fluffing machine. Before we fluffed, we had to choose a heart and put it inside of our bear to give it life. I actually chose a dog as my bear! After my dog was stuffed, I brought him over to the "bath station" where I groomed his fur and got all the fuzz off. I then dressed him with a cool Rutgers t-shirt and finally it was time to name him. After much deliberation, I decided to name my dog Stryker.  Here's a picture of him:

So what did I learn from this experience? There's actually 2 main ideas I took away from this, each closely relating to my job as an Orientation Leader in NSO. These two things are: 1) Process is extremely important and 2) Have FUN while you work!!! Just like Build-a-Bear, Orientation consists of a step-by-step process in which things have to be completed; there is a specific order for a reason. If something is done out of order, the outcome will not turn out properly (i.e. the bear will not be properly stuffed or an Orientation student will not have learned what they should have learned). With all of the parts working together sequentially, the process becomes extremely efficient, thus demonstrating why this is important in multiple aspects. Also, the key to performing a job in the best way possible is enjoying yourself while working. If you love your job and treat it as if it is play-time, it won't feel like you're working and the experience will be mutually beneficial for both yourself and others. I know from experience that having fun while at Orientation makes students enjoy their time at Rutgers as well as learn more. Hence, a session that may seem "the usual" to you is the first for them, so in order to make the student's experience the best it can be, having fun is the ONLY answer.

All in all, Build-a-Bear was an awesome, interactive, and learning experience which opened my eyes to the possibility of having fun while working, therefore giving me insight as to how I should treat my job as an Orientation Leader this summer.