Pre-orientation programs receive record number of students

Tufts pre-orientation programs hosted a record 912 students this past summer, according to Director of Campus Life Joe Golia. A new pre-orientation program, Students’ Quest for Unity in the African Diaspora (SQUAD), joined the five existing pre-orientation programs this summer along with the Mentor Collective, a mentorship program for students not participating in pre-orientation programs.

Golia, who oversees the six programs and the general pre-orientation effort, explained that the goal of these programs is to introduce incoming students to various aspects of the university and to allow them to try something new or to take part in something that interests them.

“It’s really an opportunity to get here early and start to meet people, and start to learn…the systems of the university and to start to feel comfortable,” Golia said.

Pre-orientation is a Tufts tradition that dates back more than 20 years, according to Golia. It includes six programs: the newly introduced SQUAD; Tufts Wilderness Orientation (TWO); Global Orientation (GO); Fitness and Individual Development at Tufts (FIT); Conversation, Action, Faith and Education (CAFE); and Freshman Orientation CommUnity Service (FOCUS). The number of students that participate in these programs has been consistently rising.

TWO, FOCUS and CAFE took place from Aug. 25 to Aug. 30, while SQUAD, GO and FIT took place from Aug. 27 to Aug. 30.

Every pre-orientation program costs $400, but students who receive financial aid during the school year can receive financial support to participate in pre-orientation, according to Golia.

“We look at financial aid that students get and then a percentage is created, and we’re able to give discounts on their pre-orientation fees… It’s all based on a percentage of the aid they get from the university, so it’s not [drawn from] their aid money,” he said.

However, this does not apply to SQUAD, Golia added, which is funded separately through the Africana Center.

Another recent effort to help new students adjust to life at Tufts is the Mentor Collective at Tufts. According to College Transition Advisor Danielle Vizena, the Mentor Collective was piloted out of the International Center during the summer of 2015 with the incoming first-year students participating in GO, but was expanded this summer to include students who did not participate in pre-orientation programs.

This summer, 230 undergraduates were matched with 103 peer mentors who provided them with information about Tufts culture and adjusting to college via Skype conversations, Vizena said.

“A lot of [mentees] mentioned that they were nervous that they hadn’t done pre-orientation and they were worried that they would get here and not have anybody on campus. [Those students] found that it was really helpful to have that peer connection and be able to ask those questions that you wouldn’t necessarily want to ask an administrator or staff,” she said. “I think it helped to improve their sense of belonging on campus before they even got here.”

Some undergraduates, according to Vizena, stayed in contact with their mentors beyond the requirements of the program, exchanging phone numbers or calling each other over Skype more often than required. Vizena said that the Mentor Collective at Tufts hoped to gather more mentors for next summer's session.

Reverend Greg McGonigle, who serves as university chaplain and oversees the CAFE pre-orientation program, said CAFE had a successful second year. McGonigle explained that the program allows students to make friendships while getting to know Boston and the available resources at Tufts.

“These students are just starting at Tufts and they are making diverse, probably lifelong friendships visiting a mosque, a Hindu temple, a Humanist center and a Sikh gurdwara on their first week of college to think about peacemaking today," McGonigle said. "They are also learning important social justice concepts that will help them understand our world better and be able to be active leaders on campus and in the community from day one. This program is deeply rooted in Tufts' historic values and is a strong example of our relevance to the pressing issues of today."

Ethan Whitman, a sophomore who served as a host advisor for GO, said the program combined material about living in the United States as an international student with trips around Tufts and to locations such as Harvard Square, Boston and Rockport. About half of the participants in GO, which until the summer of 2015 was called International Orientation, were international students, according to Whitman.

Whitman did not participate in a pre-orientation program as a freshman but said that he saw many positive aspects in GO.

“I think GO is really good, especially for international students, because I think it’s obviously tough for everybody to come to college, but it’s definitely a lot more tough to move to a new country and go to a new college at the same time," Whitman said. "GO is really useful because it gives a ton of international students a network that they can go to [with] people who are going through the same thing they are.”