Abstract
Flora Wilson (she/her) is a second-year graduate student working over the summer for an internship at Bell Tower University. Flora was tasked with supervising undergraduate Orientation Leaders (OLs) and had a successful first week. A few weeks into Orientation, Flora began noticing the OLs were neither meeting expectations nor receptive to her feedback. There was an incident before a late-night programming event that Flora had to address right away. This event was a turning point in Flora’s perception of her role as a graduate supervisor.
Keywords: orientation program, graduate supervisor, student leaders
Primary Characters
Flora Wilson (she/her) is a second-year graduate student and is studying Higher Education and Administration at Lake Shore College (LSC), a mid-sized institution. She attended LSC for her undergraduate degree and has knowledge and understanding of the institution’s student culture and life. Flora decided to enter an internship portal that helps match masters’ students to different institutions’ orientation programs like Bell Tower University.
Lewis Hensley (he/him) is a first-year graduate student at Bell Tower University. While not familiar with BTU’s specific orientation program, Lewis is very familiar with orientation programs in general as Lewis’s undergraduate institution is also very well known for their comprehensive programming. Lewis was an Orientation Leader for two years and served on the Orientation Leadership Team as a supervisor for one summer. Lewis is excited to use his previous knowledge and experiences from orientation to lay the foundation for success at Bell Tower University.
Grady Anderson (he/him) is the Assistant Director (AD) of the Office of New Student Orientation and has served as the AD for two months. Before accepting this new role at BTU, he was a coordinator of orientation at his previous university. This is his first summer in New Student Orientation at Bell Tower University. His primary role as an assistant director is to supervise the graduate interns (Flora and Lewis) for New Student Orientation. His secondary role is the supervision of the Orientation Leaders.
Megan Stanley (she/her) is the Director of New Student Orientation and serves as Grady’s supervisor. Megan has been the director for two years.
Harris Brown (he/him) is an undergraduate Orientation Leader (OL). He is an Education major in his fourth year at Bell Tower University. This is his first and only summer as an OL.
Institutional Context
Bell Tower University (BTU) is a large, highly selective, predominantly white institution with over 40,000 students. With over 8,000 new students committing to BTU each year, there are approximately 26 orientation sessions over a 12-week period. BTU’s orientation is a two-day process. The first day of orientation focuses on student life with activities such as small groups, skits, and late-night programming. The second day is fall registration. As part of their training, Flora and Lewis reviewed expectations and met with various campus partners to gain institutional context. They also met with off-campus partners and were assigned tasks and responsibilities for the summer.
Case
Flora Wilson (she/her) was excited to accept a graduate intern position at Bell Tower University (BTU) for the summer of 2023. As a graduate intern for the New Student Orientation program this was her first supervisory role, something she did not do in her primary graduate assistantship. The first week of training, Flora met her counterpart, Lewis. They discussed the different tasks they had been assigned, noting that they would both be supervising undergraduate Orientation Leaders (OLs). Flora was responsible for tracking inventory, coordinating songs and dances for opening introductions, and planning parent/family support events. Lewis oversaw social media, late night programming and preparing skits for programs.
One week before orientation began, the OLs spent the week training. Flora emphasized expectations, daily OL duty schedules, and locations and assignments for programming and events. OLs practiced inclusivity, professionalism, and etiquette when working with small groups. Lewis led sessions on giving and receiving feedback, emphasized attire expectations, and discussed the importance of disaffiliation from their organizations. By the end of the training, Flora and Lewis were feeling good about the upcoming week when students would arrive.
Week 1
The first week had flown by for Flora. The OLs were doing great. They were meeting expectations, having fun, and showcasing the spirit of BTU. Megan and Grady were integrated in the framework of the program, too. They were both primed and ready for their first summer working together. They prided themselves on the transitional support they provided students. Megan and Grady both felt Flora, Lewis, and the undergraduate students were doing a great job.
Week 2
The excitement of the first week of orientation had begun to decrease. Although the students were still invested in their roles, Flora noticed a shift in some of her supervisees’ behavior. A few started showing up late and were unprepared for their events, and OLs had several small but consistent dress code violations. Flora decided to mention it to a few students informally; some were receptive and seemed sincere in their apologies. A couple of students, however, were not as receptive. Flora felt their apologies were disingenuous, and the students seemed to brush off what she was saying. Her feedback was consistent with how students said they wanted to receive feedback during training, so she was confused. Flora decided to chat with Grady. Being new, Grady had not had time to build much rapport with the OLs but said he would mention something when he saw them next. Grady reinforced that the steps Flora took were appropriate and encouraged her to brainstorm additional ways to provide feedback. Grady wanted to empower Flora since the graduate interns were responsible for the direct support and supervision of OLs.
Week 4
With an upcoming break for the orientation team, Flora noticed a significant shift among the OLs. They seemed more tired than normal and got more lax with attire and professionalism. They were slow to complete tasks, leaned on one or two of their peers excessively, and were not working as a cohesive team. Grady was busy with his work and Megan had already left for vacation. Flora decided to chat with Lewis. He noticed that Flora’s OLs were slipping, as were some of his, so he understood what she was going through. Flora said her feedback to OLs was not well received and problems persisted. She admitted she was unsure in her supervisor role and hadn’t addressed students more formally because she did not want to ruin the rapport she had built.
Discussion Questions:
- Does talking with Grady diminish Flora’s credibility as a supervisor? Why or why not?
- Should Flora have talked with Grady or the students first? Why?
Case Continued
Week 4 | Thursday Evening
While waiting to get on buses to go to the rec center, the OLs played music to keep students hyped-up. One OL, Harris Brown, started playing an inappropriate song while other OLs were singing and dancing. New students started recording the scene on their cell phones. With Megan on vacation and Grady at the rec center preparing for the event, Flora and Lewis were left to take action.
Concerned for the program’s reputation, Flora told Harris he needed to change the song. When he refused, Flora knew her reputation was on the line. She said, “I’m putting my supervisor hat on. I’m telling you one more time to change the song before there are consequences.” Then Harris turned off the music, but other OLs responded with eye rolling, and loud sighs. One student even said, “I’m going to protect my peace and walk away.”
Week 4 | Friday Morning
After the incident on Thursday evening, OLs gave the orientation leadership team the cold shoulder. Flora decided to formally meet with Harris to discuss the situation. Harris was confused by the response from Flora and Lewis because he believed he was simply playing a song to keep students excited. He was frustrated that Flora asked him to change the song when the new students seemed to enjoy it.
Flora: It wasn’t really about the song. It was more about your response. When I asked for the song to be changed, nobody stepped up to do it. People were blatantly disrespectful. I put a lot of time, effort, and energy into you all and the least I expect back is the respect that you do something when I ask. Additionally, I need you to recognize that you are influential. When you behaved the way you did, your peers followed your lead.
Harris: I don’t understand why this responsibility has to fall on me.
Flora: We don’t always get to choose when we are leaders. You have done an amazing job up to this point and your peers recognize that. They trust you and look to you for direction.
Harris began to cry. Flora was not happy to see him upset but was relieved that he seemed to understand her point. She hoped this was a first step in rebuilding the group culture.
Flora then met with all the OLs to discuss what happened. She acknowledged that the situation began with a song but explained her concerns were about disrespect, the representation of the program, and the OLs’ failure to meet expectations. She emphasized the importance of working together as a team and setting a good example for the new BTU class. Flora’s conversation with the OLs was direct and honest. She held them accountable for their actions and expressed her desire to help them succeed.
Discussion Questions:
- What conversations should Flora have after the break with Harris, the OLS, Grady, Megan, and Lewis?
- What could Flora have done proactively before Thursday evening?
- In what ways could Flora have sought to understand the OLs’ experiences?
- What responsibilities do orientation staff have to their universities and campus reputation?
- What are the ethical implications regarding Flora’s decision to stop the music that was playing in line for the bus? What would you have done in Flora’s position?
Author Biographies
Katie Chaney (she, her, hers) is a second-year graduate student in the College Student Personnel (CSP) master’s program at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). She worked in secondary education for three years prior to the CSP program, and currently works as a Coordinator for Leadership in the C. Raymond Marvin Center for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement at BGSU. Katie is passionate about student leadership development and is inspired by the students she teaches and advises.
Mikayla Russ (she/her) is a second-year graduate student in the College Student Personnel (CSP) master’s program at Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Mikayla is currently the Graduate Student Trustee on the BGSU Board of Trustees, the supervisor of the Leadership Facilitation team in the C. Raymond Marvin Center for Student Leadership and Civic Engagement, and the BGSU Assistant Cheerleading Coach. Additionally, Mikayla is an Instructor for the Leadership Institute, a first-year leadership course and is passionate about student learning and development.