Peer Leaders have sort of a unique job. We are students who are hired to make the transition into college easier for the incoming freshman class.
Welcome Week is what I have looked forward to for the past three years. The week before classes start we arrive on campus to train and prepare ourselves for the welcome ahead of us. I can tell you, we are as nervous as the freshman on that first Friday they arrive. We never know what our group is going to be like, how are we going to get the students to listen to us, and will Courtney and Keith be pleased?
But once we figure out our group dynamic, it’s all about the experience after that. We start bonding and making connections by doing icebreakers and games to get to know the students and also to loosen them up. We want them to know that even though we are upperclassman we still want to be friends with them and make a connection that will last throughout college, and maybe life. We get the freshman involved in various activities from a dance to karaoke, trekking the Adirondacks to meeting teachers and advisors, and (my favorite) the Hall Olympics. Peer leaders may have a responsibility and job to do but it doesn’t keep us from enjoying the dance or singing karaoke and even coaching in the Olympics. Which, by the way, every peer leader smacktalks the other leaders because it brings out our competitive side; we all want to win the “gold” plastic medals, and we have as much, if not more, fun as the new students.
By that third day our voices are shot, we have bags under our eyes, and coffee becomes a must. But none of the Peer Leaders would let any of those obstacles get in our way. This week is not about us, it’s about the freshman and transfers becoming Smitties. Peer Leaders are always making sure students make connections with peers and staff members, and that schedules are figured out before the first day of classes on Wednesday. We become people the new students can trust. We’ll be there for them even in October when they are registering for classes, or in December while they are preparing for finals. Our job does not stop when they reach convocation; we are always leading and at any time will help a student with a problem because we made a huge impact on within the first week.
As Peer Leaders are the “first impressions” students have and we do everything in our power to make them comfortable and fall in love with Paul Smith’s, like we all did. That is what Welcome Week is all about and my experience has made my time at Paul Smith’s more memorable and valuable – especially because of all the amazing people I have met.
