Every orientation offers a wealth of experiences and friendships to members of the incoming class as they discover their new school. For this year’s Orientation 2025 coordinators, Ren Manalo and Mandy Liang, they hope the new class takes the chance to catch these opportunities.
“Even though we’ve all been through so much school already, it can still be intimidating to start somewhere new,” says Mandy. “Our goal is to provide social activities that help everyone feel one step closer to the Michener community by the time classes begin.”
Orientation 2025 provides an array of engaging activities, with in-person events accompanied by parallel virtual events. This year’s theme is all about adventure, exploration and evolution.
“We wanted something that was fun and exciting, that highlights the start of the next leg of their journey and their growth along the way” says Ren.
Both Mandy and Ren have undergraduate experience with orientation weeks – Mandy at McMaster University and Ren at University of Toronto.
“When I was an orientation leader at UofT during my undergrad, we were planning to do in-person events but then the pandemic hit,” says Ren. “I know how important these interactions can be for incoming students, and I wanted to help foster a great first experience.”
To encourage the new class to get a full picture of the Michener community and all it has to offer, social events will fix people of all programs. Outside of program and information sessions, social events this year include a BBQ, trivia night, both on-campus and virtual escape rooms and baby goat yoga.
“We hope people have fun and get a bit more clarity about their program, about Michener and their fellow classmates,’ says Mandy. “If you have even a little bit of interest in an event, we encourage you to sign up and push yourself to learn a bit more about your new community.”
Michener’s Orientation 2025 runs from August 27-29