Orientation leaders and incoming freshmen students come together at New Mocs Orientation sessions during the summer months. Photo by Angela Foster.
The summer semester has officially begun, which means that University of Tennessee at Chattanooga faculty, staff and students are gearing up for the arrival of new students on campus in August.
Freshman orientation begins on June 5 and continues until August. The two-day orientation sessions will provide incoming students with information and resources to begin their college journey.
At the beginning of each session, students and parents will gather for a welcome from the Chancellor’s Executive Leadership Team.
Students then tour the campus and their assigned residence halls, receive UTC ID “Mocs cards,” meet faculty and advisors, learn about various departments and programs on campus, stay overnight in their respective residence halls and more.
Orientation is not all business; several opportunities for excitement and mingling are included.
Carrie Sherbesman, director of UTC New Student and Family Programs, said activities include an evening campus organization fair for learning about groups, clubs and social opportunities alongside a DJ, dancing, popcorn and a “late-night snack.”
“Cheers and Chants” is when orientation leaders teach students the UTC fight song and some traditional chants that are part of Mocs home football and basketball games.
“There’s music, there’s excitement and you get your first UTC T-shirt,” Sherbesman said.
She credited orientation leaders with creating a lively atmosphere at UTC orientation.
“They are the heart of the program,” she said. “They have a love for UTC and you’ll see it in all things they do.”
Sarah Chesek, a senior communication major from Memphis, began her experience as an orientation leader in 2022 and wants students to feel at ease on campus.
“Helping incoming students feel comfortable at UTC has always been my goal as an orientation leader,” she said. “I hope students come to orientation and build new relationships.”
Sherbesman said that throughout her 12 years at UTC, she has witnessed relationship building as a key benefit for students. She even recalled one couple who met at orientation a few years ago and recently married.
As a former UTC undergraduate, Sherbesman said she remembers her orientation leader to this day–as do most students. Due to a positive student orientation experience, many students later become orientation leaders themselves.
Senior Isaiah Owens, an orientation leader for the past four years, was hooked from the day he attended orientation. Many new orientation leaders since have told him he inspired them to get involved.
“That always warms my heart,” said Owens, a theatre major and Innovations in Honors student from Murfreesboro, Tennessee. “It ages me some, but I don’t mind.”
Owens is currently reigning UTC Homecoming King and part of a handful of organizations on campus, including student government, Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honor Society, Littleton H. Mason gospel choir, UTC NAACP and its Subcommittee for Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.
“That same feeling I had that pushed me toward becoming a prominent and known figure on campus is what I aspired to demonstrate for all incoming classes,” he said. “As a senior leader on campus, I want to make sure that people can see themselves in the best way possible.”
Sherbesman stressed being unafraid to ask questions to incoming students who will attend orientation.
“We want students to leave knowing they have someone they can call if they have a question,” she said. “A huge objective for us is just that they know they have a support system at UTC.”
New UTC students and families can find information on orientation schedules and more by visiting the New Student and Family Programs web page.
Fall 2023 Freshmen Orientation Dates:
- June 5-6
- June 12-13
- June 15-16
- June 20-21
- July 10-11
- July 20-21
- July 27-28
Fall 2023 Transfer Orientation Dates:
- June 8
- June 22-virtual session
- June 27-evening session
- July 13
- July 25-virtual session
- August 1
