Student leaders attend conferences to further develop skills in leadership, organization
and planning, conflict resolution and more.
Luckily, Florida A&M University and Florida State University orientation leaders won’t
have to travel far for this year’s National Association for Orientation, Transition and
Retention in Higher Education Region VI Conference.
FAMU will become the first historically Black university to host the Southern Regional
Orientation Workshop. Beginning on March 10, FAMU’s campus will be filled with
orientation leaders from all over the nation.
Attendees will begin the conference at the Lawson Center and move to different
locations throughout the campus as the conference continues through the weekend,
providing a close and personal look at the nation’s top-ranked public HBCU.
FAMU’s Office of New Student Orientation, with help from the Office of Student
Activities, has planned an exciting welcome from FAMU’s Marching 100 pep band and
cheerleaders during the opening session of the conference. Attendees will also watch a
performance at the Will Packer Amphitheater from members of Strikers Dance Troupe,
Mahogany Dance Theatre and Distinguished Young Gentlemen of America during their
lunch the following day.
2022 Orientation Leader Al’Dajah Laws believes that the FAMU experience will
positively influence orientation leaders from predominantly white institutions as they
view and understand diversity from a different perspective.
“It’s definitely going to be a culture shock for a lot of orientation leaders coming from
PWIs, but I feel like its’s necessary,” the Belle Glade native said. “Diversity at PWIs is
becoming extremely common in this day and age, so I feel like them being exposed to
the African American culture is necessary.”
Not only will orientation leaders and the institution benefit from hosting SROW at FAMU,
but the Tallahassee community will as well.
Andre Green, director of New Student Orientation and co-host of SROW’s Regional
Conference Planning Committee, is excited for the lasting effects of hosting this
conference in the state capital.
“We’re bringing in almost two thousand individuals,” the former Florida State orientation
leader said. “So, that is a great economic impact on Leon County.”
Both graduate and undergraduate students, and faculty, will participate in a multitude of
events and competitions, helping each other gain the necessary skills needed to be
successful orientation leaders, teammates, and advisers at their respective campuses.
Competitions, such as the Skit, Song, Dance and T-Shirt and Banner competitions,
allow teams to be judged on components such as school spirit, creativity, and execution
in showcasing everything their school has to offer. In addition to this, case study
competitions judge orientation leaders’ ability to work together with quickness and
ethical decision making while solving a case they are likely to face during orientation.
If you’d like to know more about SROW at FAMU, visit
https://www.nodaweb.org/page/2023_region_6_conference .