Summer 2020 was nothing like any of us expected. When we rang in the new year of 2020, we all had some big plans for the summer. Some of us were planning beach trips and vacations. Others were looking forward to graduation and a new chapter in their lives. All our plans were ruined to certain extents by Miss Rona, but I am here to tell you how a job I decided to stick with through the pandemic ended up being one of the best learning experiences of my life and how it could be yours too. 

My plan for the summer was to be an orientation leader (OL), envisioning warm sunny days welcoming new students to this campus that I have grown to love so much. I was so proud when I was presented with the honor to be the face of NC State for incoming students that I couldn’t wait for the summer to begin. But then, one day in March, we got an email from the director of New Student Programs (NSP) telling us in-person orientation had been canceled and that we would have to figure out a new system for virtual orientation from scratch, in a few months. It’s no understatement when I say I was crushed.

I spent the next few weeks worrying about the future. Many student employees were being laid off, salaries were being deducted and multiple perks of our job as a summer OL seemed impossible to attain over a virtual platform. Yet, despite the multiple curveballs COVID-19 threw at us, NSP watched our backs, doing the most to provide us with the best job experience possible. 

While I was devastated at first to learn about the impact the pandemic had on our orientation plans, our team managed to bond in new ways, even over Zoom. New teams were formed and online services crafted, like the Virtual Orientation Information Desk, or the VOID as we jokingly called it. Instead of complaining about how hot and sticky the weather was, we joked about how our internet glitched at the worst possible moments. Since we couldn’t take wholesome pictures with our small groups, we took wholesome screenshots instead. The summer was nothing like we envisioned it, but the memories and experiences were still real and meaningful nonetheless.

Jokes aside, there are so many critical skills we learnt over the summer. The thing with a fully online job is you get pretty good at tech applications like Zoom, Google Suite, social media platforms and more. We learned how to facilitate long presentations, which is much harder when no one wants to participate in an online discussion. We learned to multitask, to improvise and to communicate with each other because there were so many instances when it felt like things were going wrong, but we always managed to brush it off. 

You may think these kinds of skills are just fluff on a resume, but you never know. As an engineering major, I know when I apply for a job, all my competitors will know their physics, coding and whatnot, so these are the experiences and competencies I can use to stand out. You may be a genius, but if you don’t know how to present to a crowd, you may never reach the heights you could. Being an all-rounder is never a bad thing, so this is a great opportunity to hone your other talents, talents you may not even know you have.

But I still haven’t told you the best part about working with NSP. The best part is the fact that they do not require you to be good at any of these when you apply. They understand we are young college students, with close to no experience, which is why they make it a big point to train their new employees to the best of their extent. They are strong believers of the ideology that anyone who is willing to learn and is respectful of their peers is a good fit for their office. 

With all that being said, I hope many of y’all take a chance to apply for the role of an orientation leader. Be it virtual or in person, this is a wonderful opportunity to grow, to learn and to make friendships that will last a lifetime. It is not a decision you will regret. 

The application to be an OL for summer 2021 is now open on NSP’s website and is due on Wednesday, Jan. 27 at 11:59 p.m. More information about the role can be found at the link above, and you can also reach out to new-students@ncsu.edu if you have any questions!

Editor’s note: Shilpa Giri currently works as a student coordinator for New Student Programs.