Due to circumstances surrounding COVID-19, Winthrop University’s Summer 2020 freshman and transfer student orientation was hosted online.
“When COVID struck we moved everything to Blackboard Collaborate in our classroom,” Anna Rhyne, a junior elementary education major and returning orientation leader, said. “All of a
sudden we realized coming back to campus in June wasn’t really going to be an option.”
In adapting orientation for the new virtual landscape, it was decided the process would be split into two sections: First Flight and Eagles Landing. According to the website for the New Student and Family Program,
the freshmen began First Flight in June and the transfers in May with a series of Blackboard modules focused on helping the students learn more about Winthrop as well as their academic program and
college finances.
“It was pretty informative,” Josiah Johnson, a freshman music education major, said about First Flight. “I think my biggest takeaway was that it solidified Winthrop as a home for the next couple years.
It finally clicked. This is where I’m going to be.”
During First Flight, students were placed into their orientation groups on Blackboard with their peers, orientation leaders, and orientation faculty mentors.
“We had to be available 20 hours a week online, which was an adjustment, but it was worth it for sure,” Rhyne said. “We got to interact with all the students and it was a curveball because none of us
had spent a ton of time doing online learning.”
Upon completion of First Flight, students were contacted via email by their academic advisor to begin class registration.
“It was confusing at first, but as I went on, the person guiding explained it and it was pretty easy,” said Sydney Largent, a freshman musical theatre major.
In between First Flight and Eagles Landing, orientation leaders, transfer orientation leaders, and mentors held different engagement activities with incoming students in hopes of forming connections
between them.
“We scheduled a couple of different events with our students like a Netflix Party or a Zoom. Something simple. And we put it on the discussion boards, so they had the option. We didn’t really pressure them to come,” transfer orientation leader and mentor, Chyna Wallace, said.
Initially, Eagles Landing was intended to be a day long, in-person orientation, but as COVID-19 cases increased, the likelihood of an in-person orientation lessened.
“We were set to come back to campus on July 28 or 29 for Eagles Landing and we were still convinced
at that point that Eagles Landing was going to be this one-day, in-person session,” Rhyne said. “We were so ready. We were so excited and then, the day before we moved on campus, we got the Zoom call.”
With plans for Summer orientation having shifted for students, Eagles Landing became a one-day virtual event consisting of Flock Talks with orientation leaders and orientation faculty
mentors, along with different panels from the Dean of Students Office, Winthrop police, Residence Life,
Dining Services, and Health and Counseling Services.
Speaking about Eagles Landing, orientation faculty mentor, Joanna Jackson said, “Sure, it wasn’t ideal for the incoming students, but I thought it was ideal given the situation. It ran fairly smoothly. There were meetings and conferences I had over the Summer that didn’t run as smoothly as this did.”
One of the main goals of orientation is to connect students with one another in order to form friendships that would carry into
the semester.
“Not being able to make those connections with students [such as] finding out who they are [was difficult] because it’s online, and it’s
even shorter than usual,” Jackson said.
“I feel like I’ve missed out on making connections with my students this year, just because of the circumstances, and I hate that,” Rhyne said. “I think some things will stay the same for next year. Some things that worked well virtually, will stay virtual, and some things that did not work well will be back to normal. If COVID is still around, I think we will be making tweaks to make that whole virtual experience easier for everybody.”
Photo by Jamia Johnson
