With Experiential Orientation (ExO) just around the corner, preparations are underway on campus for the arrival of incoming first-years and transfer students.
According to Duke Student Affairs, the University is welcoming 1,761 new undergraduate students to campus this year, including 50 transfers. Unlike the standard orientation offered at many universities, Duke’s distinctive ExO program integrates campus resources with project-based learning activities, which are the result of collaborations with over 50 off-campus and 35 on-campus partners.
“ExO, a QuadEx signature program, was founded on the belief that belonging, inclusion and community are critical to students' success,” wrote Grace Sullivan Zirkle, associate dean of students and director of New Student and Family Programs, in an email to The Chronicle.
Sullivan Zirkle added that the primary goals of ExO are to help new students feel a sense of belonging at Duke, assist them in building community and connect them with peers they can turn to for support during their time at the University.
Planning for the week-long program begins as soon as the previous year’s orientation ends. NSFP staff assesses the success of the prior orientation week and determines whether any changes should be made for the next year, while also beginning the recruitment process for a new crop of student assistants.
This year’s 53-member student Orientation Board worked with a Logistics Committee of 10 students for nearly eight months to iron out the details of the 2024 ExO program, covering everything from food and transportation to marketing and late-night events.
ExO includes 22 different projects this fall, each designed to offer a variety of new experiences framed around a central theme. Students are matched based on a ranking of their preferences, with 73.5% of participants securing their top two choices and 94.8% placed within their top four.
Each project is led by a student team of project directors and orientation leaders, with 329 volunteer OLs across this year’s 22 projects.
Junior Frannie Goodman, project director of Project Discover Durham, explained how each ExO project builds on the work of past years and praised the groundwork laid by previous directors.
“The PDs from the last two years have done … such a great job with planning, making connections with vendors and documenting everything they did,” Goodman said. “Our job has been much easier.”
Goodman described the process of updating her project’s programming for a new year, which entailed contacting vendors to reserve spaces and amenities for events, adjusting the schedule to make logistical improvements and planning new activities.
As the ExO program was piloted in fall 2022, Sullivan Zirkle pointed out that this year marks the first time most PDs were participants in ExO themselves, reflecting the program’s growing legacy at Duke.
“Their leadership in this year’s program is a powerful reflection of ExO’s ongoing impact and success,” she wrote.
As the preparation stage draws to a close over the summer, PDs and OLs return to campus in mid-August to take part in a multi-day training, where they familiarize themselves with their project’s schedule for orientation week and prepare to welcome their “crews” of new students.
When the Class of 2028 makes their way to East Campus this Saturday, OLs will be there waiting to assist with the move-in process and officially welcome the new arrivals to the Blue Devil community.
In addition to leading their crew through the week’s programming, OLs are responsible for giving five “OL chats” — planned dialogues designed to provide incoming students with a stronger understanding of available resources, support and their own agency within the Duke community. According to Sullivan Zirkle, these OL chats have undergone small adjustments this year to bolster the content and quality of the conversations, which cover topics including diversity, equity and inclusion; wellness; academic resources and support; and gender violence education.
Another significant change to this year’s ExO program is the addition of Project Herd, an animal-focused orientation project that features visits to the Duke Lemur Center, Duke Campus Farm, Eno River and downtown Durham.
Junior Ananya Kamath, project director of Project Build, emphasized the importance of mentorship as a cornerstone of ExO.
“We try really hard to make sure that the mentorship aspect of it is really strong,” she said. “We want every first-year to have two crew leaders that they know that they can go to with anything because coming to college can be a really overwhelming experience.”
Kamath noted that OLs often work to maintain relationships with their cohort of first-years beyond orientation week through activities like weekly dinners or off-campus excursions.
“We do a lot of fun stuff together throughout the school year because we do want to keep everyone engaged and involved and keep the fun going,” Kamath said. “… I think support is … one of the most important [outcomes] — having them know that they’re always supported and cared about.”
Goodman noted that PDs aim to select a diverse group of OLs that represent a range of backgrounds and interests so new students can find a mentor “they connect with or see a little bit of themselves in.” She emphasized the significance of the sense of community OLs foster with their crews during orientation week, which often proves an invaluable resource during the academic year.
“It’s so nice to have a group of 10 kids that [new students] can fall back on if they need someone to sit with in class or grab lunch with,” Goodman said. “… You never feel like you have no one.”
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