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Show PAGE 6 • THE THUNDERBIRD • SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY • MONDAY, APRIL18, 1994 Freshman orientation gives more than tours Vance Ashdown, of Ashdown Brothers Construction, uses the hydraulic power of a Bucyrus.Erie backhoe to tear out another section of concrete next to the Plant Operations building Friday afternoon. The space will become a parking lot with some 45 stalls for students in the next month. Freshman O rientation can sometimes make the difference between a happy, adjusted student and a clueless freshman. The orientation provides much more than just tours of the campus. New counselors were recently chosen for the five summer sessions. They are: Regan Beaudoin, Chad Finster, Belinda Jaggi, Russ Kennedy, Amy Peterson, Reza Razavi, Katrina Servantes, Aimee Turner, Rochelle Wray, Mary Kate W adsworth, Malissa W adsworth . Counselors retu rning to train the new counselors include Ray Hoffman, C heris Tucker and Masashi Yamazaki. According to Judy Bonniksen, director of the Student Development Center, the new counselo rs wi ll have 16 hours of classes to train them in such areas as advising new students and operating trust activities. Freshman O rientation incorporates a variety of the needs of new students. "We work with academic advising-this is one of the most important things we do," Bonniksen said. "We work on getting students connected with and adviser in their major field, and we go over all the university requi rements." She adds, however, that the orientation is not just academic. "We go as far as covering tl1e rules fo r a drug, alcohol and smoke-free campus, security and their lives on campus," Bonniksen said. "We also help tl1em with the availability of developing new acquaintances, with the hope that these acquai ntances will turn into rriendships," she said. Another integral facet of the orientation is giving awareness of services on campus through presentatio ns, participation, information sessio ns, registration , advisement, trust activities and team building exercises. As fa r as team building goes, Bonniksen said the orientation teaches freshmen to work as a group, as if they were in a study group. "Students don't coone witl1 that sort of skill, that everyone in a group needs to participate," she said. You may even get paid for f e adill g it . After all, this book from job, and it's written for students by students. To order your copy for $9.95, call 1- 800-JOB-8894. MasterCard . It)s more than a credit card . It)s smart money~· C 1994 MastrrC4,d lntrrm:monal biu,,potiJffd |