UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — New Student Orientation (NSO) is back in person at Penn State for the first time in two years. With it comes the excitement of sitting elbow to elbow with other students and sharing in the experience of something entirely new. 

At 38 different times throughout the summer, incoming new students and their parents will file into Alumni Hall in the HUB-Robeson Center for their very first orientation session at 2 o’clock in the afternoon. At the end of 45 minutes, students have to do something strange: They need to say "goodnight" to their families. 

This initial separation is important, said Katie Motycki, director of Student Orientation and Transition Programs at Penn State. Students can begin the process of making crucial new connections and experiencing Penn State for themselves.  

After parting from their families, students meet their orientation leaders for afternoon and evening sessions. Meanwhile, parents and families have a slate of afternoon programming geared just for them.

“The connections that are made in person cannot be replaced,” Motycki said. “The chit-chat in between the sessions. The unstructured time such as with NSO AfterDark, where students go to the IM Building and get to choose what they would like to do. There’s nothing like it.” 

At the end of NSO, students are enrolled and have their class schedules. They get academic advising, attend college meetings and learn how to stay safe and make responsible choices. But it’s also the little things that happen in between, and the seemingly inconsequential ones, that also help students become comfortable being students. 

“The things that happen in between make them feel like they belong to the community,” Motycki said. “Like using the dining halls. After you learn how it all works, you don’t feel as much like an outsider. We also move them around to different buildings. They get a sense of the campus. If you’re coming from high school, you may have spent your whole school day in one building.” 

In 2020, Motycki and the staff — then under the leadership of Dan Murphy — had to quickly build a virtual version of NSO in just weeks. NSO sessions start in May, and at the time no one had any idea how long the COVID-19 pandemic would last. While she’s glad to be back in person, Motycki said she will always be grateful to the staff and orientation leaders who worked to provide virtual NSO in 2020 and 2021. 

“The virtual orientation leaders will always have a special place in my heart,” Motycki said. “But nothing replaces seeing orientation leaders leading groups of new students around campus during NSO ."

Sophie Collins, a rising junior majoring in supply chain management in the Smeal College of Business, was among those who attended NSO virtually in 2020 as a new student. As an orientation leader this year, she is one of 20 orientation leaders who will greet about 9,200 new students to the University Park campus. 

She said she enjoys seeing the bonds that are forged over the course of two-day NSO and the trust that families develop in the University. 

“Definitely as the day goes on, especially on their second day, everyone is a lot more comfortable,” Collins said. “The students have made friends in their small groups on the day before. They know people, they recognize people’s faces as time goes on. The parents also learn more and they feel more comfortable sending their kids here.” 

Orientation leaders rotate through different roles, Collins explained. Sometimes a leader will spend the day with a small group of 20 students. Sometimes they lead a group of 70 for a few hours. They’re trained in every aspect of NSO, such as check-in, answering questions at the info desk, and talking about Title IX and consent, alcohol and drugs, success in the classroom, and technology. 

“It’s definitely a lot of work, preparation and training,” Collins said. “New Student Orientation happens in the summer, but we plan for it all year long.”  

The interactive theater performance "Results Will Vary*" returns this year after debuting in 2019. The original production presents the ups and downs of student life at Penn State in a humorous and non-confrontational way. Thanks to a partnership with the School of Theatre and the Center for Pedagogy in Arts and Design in the College of Arts and Architecture, Motycki said they determined that "Results Will Vary*" was able to make messages stick with new students, according to survey data. 

“We just got this show going in 2019 and we were excited to build on that in 2020, but COVID had other plans,” Motycki said. “It’s fantastic that we were able to resurrect 'Results Will Vary*,' update it and recruit a new cast.” 

New Student Orientation sessions will continue at University Park until Aug 19. Follow NSO on Instagram @pennstatesotp. 

Student Orientation and Transition Programs is part of Penn State Student Affairs and Penn State Undergraduate Education.