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Tech student orientation assistants prepare for SOAR
Tech's 2023 student orientation assistants
A new group of student orientation assistants at Tennessee Tech University is preparing
for the 2023 student orientation, advisement and registration sessions that begin
later this month.
SOAR, student orientation, advisement and registration, welcomes recent high school
graduates who are joining campus in the fall. SOAs will help newly-admitted students
become acclimated to the university during the SOAR sessions.
“I always feel so honored and blessed that I get to work with such an amazing group
of students each year,” said Courtney Brehm, New Student and Family Programs director.
“They are so genuine in wanting to help new students find their place on campus and
see them be successful.”
SOAs help new students attain personal, social and academic adjustment to Tech. They
assist new students in their connection to the campus community by sharing Tech traditions,
introducing new students to other students and answering questions about college life.
SOAs help students with transition to campus, review and finalize information about
their academic major, share more about Tech's student life, provide resources available
to help new students succeed, and help ease any concerns they may have.
This year’s group of SOAs include Amaris Rice, Lexie Western, Kensea Skelton, Katie
Hutchinson, Karley Brown, Brady Goodman, Rebekah Reed, Tommy Perhay, Brianna Pharris,
PJ Barnes, Cole Campbell, Lindsay Diehl, Macey Pickle, Gerardo Francisco-Sebastian,
Lindsey Taylor, and Robin Hall.
Training sessions for the SOAs are conducted by Brehm and a variety of campus partners
and content experts, such as Susan Wells in the College of Business who hosts a training
session about conflict management, according to Brehm.
“We cover a wide variety of topics in our training sessions that are important for
the SOAs to be able to do their job effectively,” Brehm said. “Some of these topics
include personalities and team dynamics, Tech history and traditions, effective communication,
conflict management, customer service and many other topics.”
Representatives from various campus departments and resources also come in to help
educate the team about these resources so they are familiar and can help provide information
to new students and families.
“One thing we always tell our SOAs is that they will learn a lot about themselves,
their teammates, their job and the campus throughout this training process,” Brehm
said.
SOAs come from across campus and include students who have been at Tech for varying
amounts of time, giving a diverse look at the campus experience to the new students
and their families.
Registration for SOAR at Tech is open now and sessions are filling. Incoming students
at Tech are encouraged to register as soon as possible to secure their desired SOAR
date.
For more information about SOAR, including session dates and registration, visit https://www.tntech.edu/nsfp/soar/index.php.
