Orientation has cast a spell that makes me keep coming back—and I’m perfectly fine with that.
The first week of September at Queen’s is unforgettable: FRECs in purple, crowds of cheering students, the smell of paint in the air, and U-Hauls zipping across campus. To the uninformed spectator, orientation can seem kind of crazy, but for me, it was the beginning of finding my place at Queen’s.
I started off wearing the forest-green tee as a first-year student, later becoming a Teach—a-Con-Ed Orientation Leader, and now, I’ve come full circle as the Marketing Teach Executive for Con-Ed Orientation. Looking back, I don’t think my first-year self could have imagined how much orientation would shape my university experience.
The first time I put on that forest-green T-shirt I was running late to the Tricolour Parade. Yes—I slept in. I sprinted to the Tindall Field parking lot, panicked, and found myself in a sea of even more green … and an odd highlighter-yellow colour. That chaotic moment was my introduction to fellow Con-Eddies and, of course, to my Con-Ed orientation leaders, better known as my Teaches.
My Teaches were my role models. They were my guides to navigating campus dining halls and my personal resource for the best study spots on campus. They were kind, supportive, and showed me what being a part of the Con-Ed family meant. I learned to associate the strange neon yellow of their Teach sweaters with community, love, and kinship. While my first week of school was full of so many emotions, neon yellow became my source of comfort.
Not only did my Teaches help me embrace the “Con-Ed Love” that we sang and cheered about, but I learned to embrace Queen’s and orientation in its entirety. The spirit and enthusiasm that they exuded were infectious. So infectious, in fact, that it wasn’t long before I started telling my new friends to “shake and shimmy.” I learned to let loose of all my inhibitions, both on the dancefloor at “Headphone Disco” and when jumping off the pier for the first time.
It was at White’s Farm—the annual final event of Con-Ed Orientation—where I sat on the grass, freshly painted coveralls tied around my waist, and the sun blazing in the sky. As our group reflected on our week, the friends we made, and the shimmies we shook, I realized I’ve to be a Teach.
The environment that my Teaches, peers and Teach Execs had cultivated became my safe space. Naturally, I knew I wanted to give that back to the incoming class. Future students deserve to laugh, to cry, and to jump off the pier with their new friends, just like I did. They deserve the same wholehearted, unconditional acceptance as they step into the next phase of their lives. So, I became a Teach to experience orientation again, this time from the other side, as a role model.
Having the opportunity to experience orientation again was incredible. I made 72 new friends in the form of fellow leaders. We spent late nights painting coveralls, making headbands and signs, and practicing our Year Dance until it became second nature.
During the week of orientation, I had directly played a part in 15 new students’ lives here at Queen’s. I’d seen them go from asking what each other’s majors and hometowns were to asking each other to grab dinner at Lazy or go out for ice cream. From teaching first years how to shake and shimmy at Tindall Parking Lot, to saying our tearful goodbyes at White’s Farm, it was simply one of the most rewarding experiences I could have hoped for.
I didn’t expect to apply for a third year of orientation, but there’s something that compels me to get involved again, year after year. If I were to describe what that “something” is, I wouldn’t call it magic or needing my group to win the “Con-Ed Cup” again. It’s the orientation leaders who are rigorously interviewed and handpicked along with the incoming students who gain new memories, friends and experiences. Orientation has a hold on me because I know—even if my impact is small, I can positively influence other students. To think I doubted applying for my role, in hindsight, is ridiculous to me.
In my first year, I watched myself transform into a proud member of the Con-Ed family. As a Teach, I grew into a confident role model and a pillar of support for my first years. In a way, I feel like I’m a proud parent because I’ve seen my first years grow into their life at Queen’s. They’re playing varsity sports, volunteering for our student government, part of the Concurrent Education Students’ Association (CESA), or, of course, passing PSYC 100.
Orientation is about more than event forms, site plans and ordering so many coveralls. It’s about more than agonizing over merchandise designs and even winning the Con-Ed Cup. Orientation is the colour we bring to campus in the form of tricolour paint, forest-green tees, neon to navy sweaters, purple dye, spirit and energy.
And of course, about the love we bring to our home.
Tags
ConEd, orientation, Teaches, Tricolour Parade
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