Your First Hillsdale Adventure: New Student Orientation Debrief

Written by Grace Canlas

Textbooks—check! Mini fridge—check! Hillsdale College pennant—check! You have just finished setting up your dorm room and are ready for the adventure that awaits at Hillsdale College. 

Official orientation events begin on Sunday afternoon with New Student Check-In where you are warmly greeted by Hillsdale’s admissions counselors. It is a special moment when you once again see your admissions counselor who met you as a prospective student but now welcomes you as a full-fledged Hillsdalian. To help you along your journey, you receive an information folder and orientation schedule, as well as a class t-shirt. The admissions counselors wish you well and send you on your way to Freshman Convocation. 

You and your family sit side-by-side on the East Lawn, waiting expectantly for the ceremony to commence. All rise at the sound of bagpipes and watch as the faculty arrive to take their seats. After opening remarks, two senior students bestow words of wisdom, advice, and encouragement to you wide-eyed freshmen. Then Dr. Larry P. Arnn, the president of Hillsdale College, takes his place at the podium to deliver a speech about the adventure on which you are to embark. He promises trials and tribulations during your time here, but also discovery and development of your character. The ceremony culminates with the Freshman Pledge, directing the aim and purpose of your coming adventure at Hillsdale College and in life itself. Once the faculty are dismissed, it is time to say good-bye to your family.

A path emerges, marked by orientation guides who direct you to where dinner has been prepared. You are overwhelmed by a jumble of emotions, but are in the company of hundreds of other young individuals experiencing the same thing. Over a homestyle meal, you meet your two orientation guides and seven other freshmen who are the members of your orientation group. 

The night ends with a gathering at the Arboretum where you race to complete a get-to-know-you bingo sheet, trying to find someone who has a black belt in martial arts, another who has never flown on a plane, and someone who was born in the same month as you. Back at your residence hall—the place you will soon come to call home—you play various bonding activities, getting to know your resident assistants and dormmates. After a long day, you can finally curl up in bed, though you have only taken the first couple of steps of your journey. 

It’s not long before you awake with the sun to press onward with orientation. It is a crisp Monday morning when you step outside, marching to the Civil War statue where you will find hundreds of others gathered for a Patriot Cadence Run with “Chief” Rogers, the associate dean of men. You are escorted by a police car showing off its lights and sirens as you jog around campus with your fellow classmates chanting, “One, two, Mr. Magoo.” 

After a quick shower, you are ready for the registrar’s presentation, detailing the academic requirements you will need to meet over the next four years in order to earn your diploma. You then go on a campus crash course tour during which your orientation guides familiarize you with the grounds of Hillsdale. You try to remember all of the different buildings and map out the shortest path to each location. Later, back in Plaster Auditorium, you once again find a seat next to some of your new friends. Dr. Arnn arrives to explain the purpose of Hillsdale College and the opportunity you have to serve alongside it. The presentation culminates in your signing of the Honor Code—a shared commitment to noble standards that Hillsdale students agree to pursue. 

You then gather with your fellow first-year men or fellow first-year women to be introduced to the Dean Team. Eventually, you will have a one-on-one acquaintance meeting with either the dean of men or dean of women to discuss your first couple of weeks at Hillsdale. Finally, you  are able to attend the Student Activities Board Welcome Party, which includes live music from student bands, inflatable gladiator jousting, face painting, and free food! You trek back to your dorm—two days down, one to go. 

You have made it to Tuesday. Even though today is the end of your orientation, it is really just the beginning of your life as a Hillsdalian. You once again make your way to Plaster Auditorium, this time to hear the chairman of the English Department, Dr. Jackson. He explains the importance of academic honesty, specifically regarding character and education amid the development of artificial intelligence. 

To help you tackle freshman year, you meet one-on-one with your faculty advisor to strategize about your class schedule and create a vision for your future academic pursuits. Afterward, your advisor sends you on your way, and you head over to the Source. There are more than 100 booths set up in the Orientation Lot for you to explore, with displays ranging from campus clubs to volunteer organizations and job opportunities to local businesses. You want to try everything, jotting your name down on so many sign-up sheets that you lose count. 

Back in the auditorium, you have the privilege of hearing David Whalen, associate vice president for curriculum, expound upon the Hillsdale College motto: Virtus Tentamine Gaudet—Strength Rejoices in the Challenge. By the end, you are unsure whether you feel more inspired or intimidated by what lies ahead. You then take a tour of Mossey Library, a place you will soon come to know very, very, very well. The evening concludes with the Freshman and Faculty Dessert, hosted by President and Mrs. Arnn. In their backyard, you have the pleasure of meeting some of your professors—no less intimidating just because there is cake and lemonade. As the sun starts its descent in the painted sky, you walk back to your dorm. 

Take a deep breath—you have officially made it through orientation! As you lie in your bed, your mind feels like a blob, overwhelmed by all of the new information that has been dumped into your brain over the last three days. However, you have had the joy of experiencing how truly unique Hillsdale College is. There is a high standard of excellence interwoven with a strong sense of community. You come to realize that it is the people of Hillsdale College that make this place so special. They are the ones who will help you along your journey, through the highs and lows, and make the entire endeavor worthwhile.

Grace Canlas, ’27, is a prospective English major and military history and strategy minor. When not studying in the library, she can be found practicing martial arts or laughing with her family and friends.

Published in August 2024