Arriving early in the last few days of summer is a major benefit to Colgate University students, especially incoming first-years.

With the new year starting on campus, many students moved in before Colgate’s official move-in days, Aug. 25 for first-years and Aug. 27 for sophomores and upperclassmen. These students consisted of student-athletes, international students, pre-orientation program participants as well as members of Link Staff. 

The optional pre-orientation programs offered this year were WRCU-FM 90.1 Radio, Community Outreach, The Colgate Maroon-News, Student Activities Association (SAA), Wilderness Adventure (WA), First@Colgate, Questbridge Scholars and Sustainability of the North Country. 

Notably, programs from WRCU, the Maroon-News and SAA were reinstated this year after being withdrawn from the optional programs last year.

Colgate also offers two other pre-orientation programs required for some students: International Student Orientation and Alumni Memorial Scholars.

First-year Paul Neeb participated in more than one pre-orientation program. He spent a week in early August backpacking during the first session of Wilderness Adventure (WA).

When asked about this week, Neeb reminisced fondly over his WA family.

“I felt like being back in kindergarten. It was late in the night, and we were just stargazing,” Neeb said. “We were all sitting in our sleeping bags, and [our WA leader] read us the Lorax. It was great.”

As Neeb is from Frankfurt, Germany, after his WA he participated in the International Students pre-orientation program for a week in late August.

“To explain [International Student Orientation] in one word, it would be the German word ‘kurzweilig,’ which is the antonym of ‘being bored,’ because I was never bored,”  Neeb said.

One of the Alumni Memorial Scholars on campus, first-year Penelope Schenkel, spoke about her experience on campus ahead of the official first-year move in day.

“The [program] is great because I’ve made such great friends in my group, and I have support here,” Schenkel said.

Pre-orientation allowed Schenkel to meet others before the added stress of orientation. 

“I didn’t know anyone before I moved in, so it’s helped me to make friends and integrate myself at Colgate with less pressure than if it was a full move-in all at once,” Schenkel said. 

In addition to the many first-year students who arrived early, several upperclassmen also moved in ahead of their assigned move-in day to aid in the first-year experience. Some arrived early to run pre-orientation programs or to prepare to lead orientation as Link Staff.

The members of Link Staff spent a few weeks before the first-years arrived preparing for the move-in. They put themselves in the places of the first-years in order to better grasp their experiences during the days of orientation. 

Junior Elizabeth Chin commented on the role of Links during orientation, the preparation that goes into the experience and the reason for arriving early. 

“We do all the training that the students have to do and sit through so that we understand what is going to happen, and so we can ultimately be a friendly face on campus and be a role model for students to look up to when they need support or guidance,” Chin said.

Chin emphasized the importance of Links simply being willing to help first-year students. 

“It’s very fulfilling to have this role in this capacity in order to serve as a role model for them,” Chin said. 

The efforts that the upperclassmen have invested in the first-years have so far not gone unnoticed. 

Her experience moving in early as a Link before orientation began left Chin feeling both the excitement of preparing for orientation and the ease of transitioning into the school year.

“It’s nice to have all the space and time to decompress and move in while also getting readjusted to Colgate’s campus,” Chin said. 

The students who arrived on campus early, optimistic for the new year ahead, hoped to contribute to the campus culture, building a foundation for the rest of the year.