Orientation Committee
Zhao Chen (left) and Sabrina Spencer (right)
Orientation Committee Chairs, 2007-2008
If you are looking for information specific to Graduate Orientation 2007, please go to the Orientation 2007 page!
The Orientation Committee is responsible for welcoming all incoming first year graduate students to MIT, a mission accomplished by organizing a variety of events around the beginning of the school year to help new students meet each other. In addition to becoming more familiar with their new environment and MIT's unique way of doing things, many graduate students find that they make their best friends during their first month at MIT, during orientation!
Orientation is undoubtedly the most exciting time of the school year. If you wish to get involved in this fun and rewarding experience, please contact the Orientation Committee chairs at gsc-oc[at]mit[dot]edu. Think about how lost you were when you first arrived, and how orientation helped you meet people and make friends... Come join the Orientation Family, and help welcome the first years to MIT!
Planning and Volunteers
Planning for Fall Orientation begins as early as March, and extends all the way through the end of September. The two committee chairs work very closely with the GSC administrators to deal with the large-scale planning issues. Each particualr event also has its own coordinator, who is responsible for organizing the details, and recruiting volunteers. Depending on the events, there may be several volunteers. The coordinators and volunteers are fellow students who want to help make the first year’s transition easy and fun.
We are looking for volunteers to help out with the 2007 events. If you're interested, email gsc-oc[at]mit[dot]edu.
Types of Events
The events are divided into a variety of categories – they range from sporting events like the Red Sox game, parties in the dorms, nights out on the town, free lunches and dinners, to educational forums on topics such as international students issues. The highlight of orientation is no doubt the Welcome Address where the MIT president and a distinguished keynote speaker welcome the incoming students and share precious words of wisdom.
Funding
Several departments and offices within MIT also sponsor Orientation, along with MIT affiliated groups including the Harvard-MIT Coop and the MIT Federal Credit Union. External sources of funding also exist, which are generally corporate sponsors who help fund a particular event. The total budget for Orientation is on the order of $100,000. More information regarding funding can be found by examining the GSC Budget.
