What will orientation look like this year?- An interview

I know many of you have questions on how orientation will look like this year, so for this week's blog, I invited Francesca, a former Life at U of T blogger, for an interview to answer any questions you may have about orientation this year! 🙂 Question:  To start off, can you tell me a bit about your position on the team and what you do? My name is Francesca and I’m a fourth-year student at University College. This year, I am on the executive team for orientation. What this means is that I am in charge of a couple events (‘Club Quarantine’, ‘Bring it On’, and Accessibility), which we have been working on since April. Basically, we are the ‘behind the scenes’ of orientation, and our job is to make sure everything runs smoothly come September, and that first years have the best experience as they transition into university.

Question:  What’s the biggest difference between this year’s orientation and previous years? This year, orientation is going to be different than it has been in previous years. At University College, we decided to have a hybrid model, which means we will have some in-person events (which will also be live-streamed), and events which will be solely online. The event formats have drastically changed, but we have been working non-stop to provide the best experience to those who have signed up.

Question:  What are you looking forward to the most? I have always loved Orientation, so I am just generally very excited for Orientation Week to start. I love seeing all the first years arriving, seeing how much they change over the course of a couple of days, and seeing them make friends and get comfortable with the university. It is truly such a rewarding experience. Question:  What can first years expect? Orientation will be undoubtedly different than it has been before, but you will enjoy it more than you can even imagine. Every college and faculty is doing it slightly differently, but we have all been working for months, making sure that when you get here (or if you are doing it online), your transition into university is not only smooth, but also fun, and that you start meeting people who will be doing the rest of your university years with you. Thank you to Francesca for being a part of this interview! 🙂 It’s no secret that orientation will look different this year, but that doesn’t mean that it won’t be as great! If you have any additional questions on orientation, tune into The University of Toronto Student Life Facebook Live happening on August 4 titled ‘5 questions with Orientation & First-Year Team’!