UT Tyler Orientation Leader Retreat

5 Things an OL should NEVER forget

After hours of sleep deprivation, learning every fact about The University of Texas at Tyler, and competing in extremely competitive endurance challenges I survived my first Orientation Leader Retreat. I learned so many different things this past weekend and I wanted to share my experience with the things that really stuck out to me.

1. Drink lots of coffee/always have caffeine on hand.

By being an Orientation Leader, you're going to be exhausted waking up in the wee early hours in the morning so remember to drink some sort of caffeine to make sure you're wide awake when you first meet your freshmen that are assigned to your group.

2. Remember it's not about you, it's about them!

The whole reason for being an OL is to really portray how awesome our school is and how hyped we are about the incoming patriots!! So put their perspectives first and foremost before your own because you will have a huge impact on how they view The University of Texas at Tyler and their decision in choosing the school.

3. Play your favorite "Ice Breakers"

Ice Breakers are fun activities that we used to get to know each other better at retreat and it was a great way to get everyone involved in what was going on. One of my favorites was "Rock, Paper Scissors" because once you and partner were done playing against each other, the loser cheered on the winner and they played the rest of the OL's until there was just one winner. This was a great team building exercise because instead of being discouraged you lost, you were enthusiastic that your partner won and you cheered them on until the end.

4. FOLLOW THE COLOR SCHEDULE!!

The Orientation Planning Committee puts A LOT of work into making sure that Patriot Orientation runs as smoothly as possible, so when you're given a schedule of where you're supposed to be during orientation PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE follow it to a tee! You may not be at your favorite stations, but just remember that those rotate out every session so don't get too disappointed about it!

5. Have fun!

Yes throughout the summer it can be difficult at times being an Orientation Leader, but remember to have fun and show your Patriot Pride to the incoming Patriots! Be silly, be loud, be CRAZY, and be yourself because we want to show that college is serious, but it can also be really fun at the same time. :)