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Natalia Rementilla

Brigham City, Utah

Nursing

Leadership Track

Team Captain Thunder U Experience

My EDGE project was done during orientation for the 2016 year. The orientation for this year was called Thunder U. My partner Kyra and I interviewed to be Thunder U captains. Being a Team Captain meant having a group of about 10 new students that had the same or similar major as us. We mentored our group throughout orientation and gave them information they would need to succeed in college.

In addition to being team captains, me and Kyra created our own orientation program called Thunder U Tours. There were two times during orientation that we set up a booth and had Presidential Ambassadors volunteer to be our tour guides so that we could have help giving the tours. These tours were designed to help new students (international, freshman, nontraditional) find where their Fall 2016 classes would be located, as well as show them important resources we have at SUU such as the library, the testing center, and the writing center. We mainly focused on finding exactly where their classrooms were so that they would not be lost on their first day. It was especially helpful when it came to the General Classroom building since that is where most freshmen have their classes and it happens to be one of the most confusing buildings on campus.

The reason why me and Kyra decided to create the Thunder U Tours was because Orientation Leaders were getting feedback that new students were scared of getting lost their first week. A lot of the new students had not even been to SUU before, especially the international students. For people coming right out of high school, it is a lot bigger and scarier than they are used to. Kyra and I met Chelsea Buck, the coordinator of orientation, through our Self-Aware Leader class. Chelsea helped us implement this project after an assignment that had us come up with a program for first year students. We brainstormed and decided to make something that would help new students who had never been to SUU or had only been a couple times.

Some challenges we encountered were not having enough tour guides for all the students, not knowing where some of the classes were ourselves, and for being a Team Captain - staying energetic and excited for 3 days from sun up to sundown. Our tours were successful, so successful that we did not have enough tour guides. Sometimes there were groups who had to wait awhile for a tour guide to get back. I had the issue of not being able to find some classrooms. I had to ask other faculty members for help. It was good that we were able to find them eventually so that they would not have to worry about it when classes started the next week. Being a Team Captain was exhausting. It was a lot of work that lasted the whole day for three days in a row. I actually got sick after Thunder U from being sleep-deprived. But it was all worth it and I had an amazing experience getting to lead my own group and become friends with a lot of new people.

After every tour I gave, I asked the students if they felt it was helpful and if they think the tours should continue for every orientation. The answer was always yes to both of these. I remember the night before classes began my freshman year, me and my roommates were roaming around campus trying to find where our classes were. We were able to find the buildings but everything was locked so we could not find the actual classrooms. In our tours, we were able to show them every classroom as well as other helpful resources. I did not even know what the Testing Center was until my biology professor told us that was where we needed to take our exams. Letting students know about things like that helped prepare them for their first year of college at SUU.

I loved my project because I got to do something I love - help new students and show them why SUU is the best. It benefited me in multiple ways. I got to know SUU’s campus better. I went to buildings I had never entered before. I also got to know a lot of new students and become their friend. I still say hi to a lot of the people I gave tours to whenever I see them. I gained communication and marketing skills. Being a Team Captain let me use the leadership skills I already had as well as gain new ones.

“The tours of campus are now a permanent program of orientation. Parents and students found it super helpful and when asked if they thought we should always give tours like this during orientation - they said yes.”