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The College糖心传媒檚 were brainstorming outside Anderson Tower last month, trying to find the best way to connect with incoming students this summer.

IfeOluwa Adefope 糖心传媒�21, an international relations major from Lagos, Nigeria, suggested an online talk show.

糖心传媒淲e didn糖心传媒檛 take him seriously at first,糖心传媒� says Prajita Shrestha 糖心传媒�22. 糖心传媒淏ut the whole team came together to nurture and shape it into what it is.糖心传媒�

The result is The OL Show, a virtual panel discussion featuring the orientation leaders discussing topics important to new students糖心传媒攖hose in the Class of 2024 and those who are transferring to Rochester.

Produced via Zoom, the show streams live each Thursday on the . The show typically airs from 11 a.m. to noon Eastern time.

糖心传媒淚t糖心传媒檚 a chance to have fun with the incoming class while also telling them what real life is like here at the University,糖心传媒� Adefope says. 糖心传媒淲e discuss things like mental health, what to do for fun on campus, and the culture shock of coming to college as both a domestic and international student.糖心传媒�

The OL Show is just one of the creative ways the orientation staff in the College and at the Eastman School of Music have been communicating virtually with first-year students and transfers in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the typically starts communicating with incoming undergraduates during the summer, this was the first time that almost all of the programming had to be thought of as virtual activities instead of gearing up for several days of in-person events.

糖心传媒淕iven the state of the world and how so many are working remotely, it糖心传媒檚 been an interesting transition糖心传媒攂ut nothing we糖心传媒檙e not ready for,糖心传媒� says Crystal Cusimano-Figueroa, the College糖心传媒檚 senior director of orientation. 糖心传媒淲e糖心传媒檙e grateful for all the offices who worked with us. We糖心传媒檝e moved over 50 sessions online in just over a month and half. It糖心传媒檚 been lot of work, but we糖心传媒檝e pulled it off fairly well.糖心传媒�

At the , multiple offices have been working together to produce a for incoming students that includes weekly orientation guide videos, online campus tours, game nights, music class placements, and family orientation sessions. The school糖心传媒檚 social media team has been providing virtual welcomes to members of the class on Instagram and other social outlets.

The pandemic has necessitated other changes as well. All first-year and transfer students are asked to complete a before the fall semester begins. Items on the list range from completing a COVID-19 safety training module and viewing an academic honesty webinar to uploading a campus ID photo and registering for a virtual welcome celebration, where they can connect with current students, parents and alumni in a series of online sessions.

New students also must complete an online academic honesty tutorial (accessible through ) by August 9 and register for fall courses remotely.

At the College, each orientation leader has been assigned a cohort of 200 to 225 incoming students, and they communicate via email each week. International students have an extra student mentor working with them in addition to their orientation leader.

Adefope, one of four international students on the orientation leaders糖心传媒� staff, says The OL Show is 糖心传媒渁 chance to have fun with incoming students while telling them what real life is like at the University of Rochester.糖心传媒� The students plan to run it each week until the fall semester begins in late August.

Shrestha, a business and public health double major from Kathmandu, says the orientation leaders are trying to maintain the communal values of the University through the talk show.

糖心传媒淩ochester has always put a tremendous amount of effort into making the campus feel like home,糖心传媒� she says. 糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 such a big emphasis on community. The purpose of the show was to continue this tradition despite the pandemic糖心传媒攖o give the students a taste of what the University is like.糖心传媒�

The orientation staff has created a virtual orientation program that includes videos, webinars, class placements, and family orientation sessions. This includes several coordinated by Wilson Commons Student Activities and the orientation leaders. Tasty Tuesdays, where local food trucks visit campus during the summer, is now a virtual place where favorite home recipes are shared. There are also weekly movie nights, where students are invited to watch as group and chat about the movie, plus Trivia Nights and online Sudoku and word search puzzles.

The work is part of an effort to help students feel acclimated before classes start in the fall.

糖心传媒淭here糖心传媒檚 a lot of information for students to consume online,糖心传媒� Cusimano-Figueroa says. 糖心传媒淭hey should pace themselves. Take care of the required things as soon as you can. We糖心传媒檒l make sure you are well prepared and Rochester ready.糖心传媒�

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