Meet Your 2024 Orientation Leaders
Orientation leaders sing during karaoke in Carriage House in 2023. (Kyle Ferreira)
Incoming students will soon arrive at Chatham University and learn a little bit of what they can expect from their first year as they start orientation.
On orientation.chatham.edu, there’s a site to help students prepare. It includes information about what to bring, what to expect, and who you’ll meet. Among them are orientation leaders (OLs), Chatham students who will help acquaint new students with the campus, city, and culture.
Pulse@ChathamU spoke to the two head orientation leaders, Morgan Rapsky ’25 and Gina Cowser ’26, about what students should know and expect as they prepare for orientation.
What do you remember about your orientation?
Gina Cowser is one of this year’s orientation leaders. (Courtesy of Gina Cowser)
Gina Cowser: I was actually really scared. I’m a really shy person by nature, so I was just worried about people liking me. Will I make enough friends? Will I fit in?
When I came to orientation, I realized everyone else was also worried about the same thing, which I think is hard to recognize when you’re 18 and in your own head. We went on a neighborhood excursion to Squirrel Hill, and I had a bunch of fun during that time. I made some friends I still have today, going into my third year. I really value that experience.
Morgan Rapsky: I had a very positive experience during orientation. I remember my orientation leader very fondly, and I think that was a huge part of me getting comfortable on campus. She highlighted all the different ways you can get involved and how receptive the campus is to starting new clubs and making the experience your own.
I felt very nervous. I felt very out of place at first. I went to every single social event that happened during orientation week. I think it’s really interesting that some of my best and closest friends now, I met them during orientation week. I met three of my closest friends at bingo.
When and why did you become an orientation leader?
GC: I was an OL last year, and this is my first year being a head OL. Some of my older friends were OLs, and they told me how valuable they thought the experience was taking on a leadership role at Chatham.
Orientation leader Morgan Rapsky said she met some of her closest friends at her first-year orientation at Chatham. (Courtesy of Morgan Rapsky)
MR: This is my second year being an orientation leader. I was really nervous [last year], because I knew how important it was that I had a good OL and how formative that was for me having a positive experience at Chatham. But once I met everyone, I got way more comfortable and more excited to teach them about the school.
I decided to become an OL because I was nervous coming to college initially. I didn’t feel like there were a ton of people like me that were from where I was from, or who came here not knowing anyone. I now know that there are.
What can students expect to do during orientation?
GC: We help them move in. That’s helpful to have someone other than your parents or a family member who’s stressed about helping you move in. We show them around campus and do tours. We do icebreakers; it can be awkward, because some people just aren’t ready to open up yet, but it really helps people get to know each other and let them know Chatham is a safe space for them. It’s a place where we can live, learn, and grow together.
We’re going to do more movie nights on the quad. Students enjoyed that, and I enjoyed that in my first year. There will be snacks. We have neighborhood excursions all planned out, with pamphlets highlighting where we’re going to go. We’re very excited about those.
MR: The orientation schedule is online already. If you’re a planner, like me, everything is on there with event names, descriptions, and times. We have a lot of fun events planned. We also have lots of speakers explaining academic resources on campus and different things we have to help people adjust here.
Honestly, I’m just most looking forward to meeting the new class. Last year, I made friends with a lot of the incoming students, so I’m just excited to see who’s going to be going here.
What do you want to incoming students to know?
GC: It’s OK to feel overwhelmed and nervous. I remember feeling like that too. That feeling isn’t going to last forever—I know that might be annoying, because your parents are probably telling you that too. There’s such a community at Chatham, you will feel loved and appreciated no matter where you go within this community. Everything will work out. We’re all on the same journey together.
MR: Take in everything you can. I would recommend going to every event you can, learning as much as you can about the campus and area, and making some friends. It’s really just an opportunity for you to get comfortable.
Everything new students need to know about orientation is available at orientation.chatham.edu.