The UTD Mercury

Issue date: 6/20/05 Section: Orientation

Click here to download the PDF of the Orientation 2005 issue. [Click to enlarge]

Orientation Team Mentors (OTM) are revamping familiar student involvement programs to ensure excitement and to promote new student participation in campus activities.

The 24 OTMs are student representatives who assist new students to transition to UTD. They offer information and act as a referral resource to assist new students with problems or concerns.

The OTMs, who head programs such as orientation, Success Camp, Comet Camp, Emerging Leaders and Road Warriors, have made significant changes to the format and time frames of these programs to reach a specific goal.

"Our goal as OTMs is to take the initial excitement of coming to college and to foster it," said Eric Torres, a junior business administration major and senior OTM. "We want to use our programs to help new students to be successful in and out of the classroom."

A major new offering in this year was an April orientation, in addition to the normal slate of summer orientations. The April orientation, which was attended by an estimated 200 incoming freshmen, was challenging, Torres said.

"We had to prepare for the new April orientation during the school year," Torres said. "We literally had no expectations, but we ended up getting very positive feedback from the students attending."

Jenna Longoria, a junior government and politics major and senior OTM, said the April orientation was successful in part because of another new addition to the format. For the first time, Soul Steppers, UTD Cheerleaders and Power Dancers participated in the orientation.

"Usually, the OTMs perform a dance, but because of the April orientation, we really didn't have time to prepare for it," Longoria said. "So, we asked the Soul Steppers, cheerleaders and Power Dancers to perform. From the overwhelming response we got in the first orientation, I think it was a good idea."

The dancers will be featured in the two June orientations, the one July orientation and the one August orientation as well. Torres said that he and his fellow OTMs are excited about the upcoming year and events.

"Being an OTM makes the experience all the more fun," he said. "I love the excitement of seeing the new life of UTD. I guess you could say it keeps me young!"

Please download the PDF to read the OTM profiles.

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