The New Face of Orientation
Jacob Piechowski
Contributing Writer
Just a few weeks ago on Friday, Aug. 26, a new group of freshmen came onto the UMF campus, eyes wide and full of a mix of anxiety and excitement. They set down their bags and made friends at all the activities that were put on by the orientation leaders, but there was one man running around and checking in with the orientation leaders. His name is Connor Fahey.
Going back a few years, Fahey started out working at a wilderness therapy program for teen boys who were in trouble with the law as an alternative to going to a detention center. He also worked with young kids ages five to fourteen who experienced significant trauma. Most recently, prior to coming to UMF he worked at a co-ed high school boarding school in New Hampshire and worked there as Director of Student Life, Dean of Student Life, and dorm parent. He then jumped to UMF where he stated, “UMF felt very similar to the school I was at. It was like a jump to a bigger thing back into the university world but not so big by going to a gigantic university.”
Once arriving on Monday, Aug. 15, The admissions staff already had so much of the stuff at orientation planned and worked on. Fahey said he stepped in to help with those little details that needed to be worked on for this year’s orientation. He stated: “Working with student leaders is something that I think is so important as it makes others feel welcomed. When I heard other students coming here and volunteering to do it I was just really excited to learn why people wanted to do it and what people wanted to get out of it and to try and make training relevant not just for new students arriving but what you wanted to get out of it as a leader for the rest of the year on campus.” Fahey put his full foot forward, even if he didn’t know much about the school, for the students.
He explained that once orientation started, he felt no nervousness or anxiety on him and felt very excited about it. He said how having the experience of his past jobs for years at a time has helped him become comfortable with the responsibilities he now has at UMF. One thing that stood out was when he said “I’m gonna have stuff to learn and I’m gonna learn it and I’ll make mistakes and I’ll learn from those.” He said that he did have that nervousness during the first couple of weeks when going into meetings with Lisa Ellrich and Joe McShane, both of who work in Admissions and who hired Fahey. He said that going through an orientation where he wasn’t a part of planning these big parts gave him a different perspective, as he states: “I was there, I could help with any issues that came up. But, I got to experience it from the standpoint of really being able to understand the nerves that come with the new students and their families and their friends that come to support them. It meant to have it with a fresh eye of what changes could be made or what feedback do I want to get from students about what went really well and what they would like to see.” He said that orientations are about getting three things accomplished during a very short period of time. It was about knowing where classes are and what you need, making connections with new friends, and making sure you’re settled enough before classes.
Fahey also talked about how even after orientation, he still puts himself out there in the community:
“If you want to be a meaningful part of a community you have to understand the community and you have to take your own risks. You can’t expect other people to put themselves outside of their own comfort zone if you don’t do the same thing at times,” he said.
“It meant to have it with a fresh eye of what changes could be made or what feedback do I want to get from students about what went really well and what they would like to see,” [said Fahey.]
Photo submitted by Jacob Piechowski.
He also talked about how as older adults, it's good to remind ourselves how hard it is for young people transitioning in the world to do just that. Especially when that adult has been in the same job for a few years to twenty years as they get that sense of comfort. In the next few weeks, Fahey stated that he wants to go to more events like the job fair and club fair where he interacted with groups of students and asked them about their clubs or jobs. He has become an amazing part of campus and one that is hopefully going to stay for a long time.
