Lily Charkow & Pham Pham, Staff Writer & Special to The Denisonian

Before a Denison student even steps foot into a classroom, the Office of First-Year Experience welcomes them onto The Hill. The office is responsible for transitioning First-Year students into college. 

First-Year Experience is responsible for orientation, advising circles, the induction ceremony, move-in, and First-Year connect trips. These experiences are designed to help students adjust to college life. 

The office consists of Kate Tull, the Associate Director of Orientation & First-Year Experience, and Andrew McNutt, the Assistant Director of Orientation & First-Year Experience.

They plan out a full curriculum of presentations and activities that teach students about Denison and how to adjust to college life and a new community.

First-year Experience does not stop at orientation. Advising circles meet frequently throughout the fall semester, aiming to provide academic support and guidance to students. There are also connect trips, which take students off campus to explore Columbus and around other parts of Ohio.

Over the years, the First-Year Experience has changed. For instance, students used to travel to Denison’s campus in June for a pre-orientation called June-O. 

“June-O was an optional program where if students were local or had the means to travel for just that two day experience, they had, possibly, a step above other people in starting their experience,” said McNutt.

The office gathers feedback from surveys that are sent out to First-Year students. Over the years, students have asked for more free time during orientation.

Orientation can feel packed. In recent years, they have begun to cut down on how many events are on a particular day. 

This year, the scheduled day ended at 4 p.m., allowing students to have more free time. They provided a list of different activities and let students decide which activities to attend. 

“In 2025 we had over 65 comments in our survey specifically quoting something around free time, more time to sleep or anything like that,” says McNutt, “This year we only had 11.” 

“Every single year,” Tull said, “we make changes to make it shorter, less exhausting, and have more free time.”

Tull has worked with the First-Year Experience office since 2020, and said she has seen many changes in programming. 

Tull emphasized that student feedback is only one factor behind the office’s decisions. Changes to programming are also based on practical considerations, including staff capacity, financial resources, and the academic calendar.

Although Tull and McNutt are responsible for planning orientation, they recognize that they are not always the people who interact most directly with first-year students.

“Accessing orientation leaders is really important,” Tull said. 

She explained that faculty members and student leaders often have more opportunities to observe first-year students’ experiences. Therefore, the office seeks input from these two groups. 

Previously, June-O and Aug-O had separate student leadership, but due to the changes, they are now run by the same team. 

Lily Meyer ‘28 has been involved in orientation leadership since she was a rising sophomore. A member of the Exordium leadership program, Meyer said that she was encouraged by the positive role models from her orientation trip to apply as a leader and First-Year Fellow at the end of her freshman year. 

“I felt like during my freshman year experience, there were things that I would change, and I wanted to be that person,” she said. 

Meyer was a group leader for the Exordium orientation trip and First-Year Fellow during the beginning of her sophomore year, but switched to leading the kayaking orientation trip in August of 2026. She said that she was expecting to lead the DOO (Denison Outdoor Orientation) off-campus trip before it was canceled.

“If I knew that DOO wasn’t going to be an option, I would have gone the First-Year Fellow route [this year],” she said. “The appeal of working as a trip leader and just as a trip leader has gone down because it’s not a lot of employment, and if you want to establish relationships and be a leader for freshmen as you get to know them, you only have a little bit of time.” 

Tull explained that the office wants to give students more opportunities to develop relationships with the same student leader over time. Even if students do not immediately become friends with their leaders, those leaders can still become reliable resources throughout their First-Year

Tull also acknowledges that making activities mandatory can change how students engage. While taking students off campus together can create a valuable shared experience, students may react differently when they are required to participate rather than choosing to do so themselves.

“Our number one priority in our office is for students to make friends and feel like they want to be here,” says Tull.