Hi everyone, my name is Alex, and I had a 16-hour long drive to Mount A my first day and was super worried that, because I was coming from so far away, I would have trouble making friends and fitting in. I knew 2 other people from my high school were coming to Mount Allison, but I was set to live in Bennett while they both lived on the North side, so I knew I had to be in charge of making new friends really quickly. My roommate and I made a plan to go to every single Orientation event offered and to really push ourselves to go out and meet everybody that we could. That lasted for about 2 days, until we were both so burnt out that we took a whole day off to recharge our social batteries. Both of us were (and are) still introverts who prefer small groups and sometimes have trouble talking to new people, so constantly running around and going to high-energy events tired us out really fast.  

After that burnout lesson, we started to think harder about the events we were choosing to go to. One of the great things I love about MtA’s Orientation is how diverse the events are, they have something for everyone’s interests and not everything is high-energy physical activities. Especially when clubs and societies join in for some introductory events, there is something for everyone, you have just got to find it! And, at these events, I started to meet more friends who I really connected with. During the Karaoke BBQ I danced beside my current housemate and one of my closest friends and we bonded over cheesy dance moves and house spirit. I also met some really close friends during a residence spirit night where we learned a bunch of new facts about Mount Allison and stayed up super late in the basement. Orientation is designed for new students to meet new people and make lasting connections and it is a ton of fun along the way, I’m looking forward to meeting even more awesome people this fall! 

Alex is a fourth-year psychology student at Mount Allison and a member of this year's Orientation Committee