Pushing Boundaries

An immersive orientation program

FOR MORE THAN THREE DECADES, new Loggers have participated in Orientation, the ultimate bonding experience to kick off their Puget Sound journey. The week-long program includes a three-day small-group experience, as well as discussions on a common set of readings, connections with professors and other students, and a chance to become familiar with campus life and Tacoma before their classes begin.

On a Saturday in August, incoming students move into their residence halls and begin to meet their future roommates, classmates, and friends. Students and families are officially welcomed by President Isiaah Crawford with the Convocation address in Baker Stadium. When parents leave, new students begin the exciting week with an Immersive Experience of their choosing.

From a base camp on the Hood Canal, you can choose to explore the beauty of the Pacific Northwest as part of an overnight canoeing trip, embark on a three-day hike through the Olympic Mountains, or from campus, you can participate in an introduction to the local theater arts scene, city transportation, urban farming, or queer communities.

Each adventure is led by experienced student leaders at the helm, with teams of 10 to 15 first-years starting their college experience by exploring who they are, how they want to make the most of the resources around them, and what to expect during the next chapter in their educational careers. As Marta Cady, associate dean of students and director of orientation notes, “Orientation changes your trajectory about what you think you can do at Puget Sound.”

“ORIENTATION CHANGES YOUR TRAJECTORY ABOUT WHAT YOU THINK YOU CAN DO AT PUGET SOUND.”

New Loggers wear ripcord bracelets from their orientation experience long after they return to campus.

You might choose canoeing on the Hood Canal or overnight camping as your Orientation Immersive Experience.

“As a first-year, I felt the pressure to explore everything. I wish someone had taken me away from the bustling crowd to tell me that stillness can be an excellent complement to motion.”

Orientation Leaders

The opportunity to become an Orientation leader after your first year cements the experience as central to the Puget Sound tradition. Student leaders say that leading an experience brings it full circle for them and allows them to reflect back on their own participation, including what they might have done differently.

“As a first-year, I felt the pressure to explore everything. I wish someone had taken me away from the bustling crowd to tell me that stillness can be an excellent complement to motion,” explains Elena Fulton ‘19, a molecular and cellular biology major from Denver, Colo. Once she became an Orientation leader, Elena had the chance to carry that insight forward: “I had the opportunity to do that for my group. My advice to them was: ‘give yourself time to figure yourself out in this new space,’” she explains. The effect of this advice was instantaneous. “I watched each member of my group sit up a bit taller and breathe a little deeper.”

Faculty seminars during Orientation take place on and off campus in places like the Chinese Reconciliation Park, just blocks away.

“It’s just so much deeper here.”

Faculty-Led Seminars

Another hallmark of Orientation at Puget Sound is the faculty-led seminar, in which small groups of students discuss key ideas and learn about critical thinking and writing skills that they will develop and refine during their time at Puget Sound. The seminar is followed by programs and conversations about advising, student employment, visual art, diversity and inclusion, social justice, consent and bystander intervention, campus safety, and other areas. These primers introduce students to the resources and services available at Puget Sound and orient students to the things they’ll need to know about the campus before classes start.

The week-long program is full of activities intended to encourage students to leave their comfort zones and embark upon new and exciting adventures. While all colleges offer an orientation program of some sort, Marta takes pride in how Puget Sound puts thought and care into transitioning students into their new community. “It’s just so much deeper here,” she says.

THE COLOR POST

All new students participate in the Matriculation Ceremony that begins at the Color Post with high-fives and handshakes from staff, professors, and President Crawford, signaling the official start of their becoming Puget Sound students. The original Color Post was an obelisk cut from a large fir tree and erected in 1917. Today, the modern version is made of stone and sits in the middle of Karlen Quad, each side of the four-sided post painted in colors that represent different areas of study: white for the liberal arts, yellow for science, purple for law and government, and red for religion. The four sides also represent the four years of a student’s college experience. Every graduating class year is engraved on one of the sides, dating back to the University’s founding in 1888.

Matriculation Ceremony

The week of activities wraps up with the Matriculation Ceremony, where students are invited to write letters to their future selves that are to be read four years later during Commencement. That evening, Orientation concludes with a closing campfire commemorating stories, friends, and lessons from the week that will last a lifetime.