Sara Jean Gilbert,
Assistant Director, Undergraduate Admissions and Orientation
During the summer months you may notice large groups of students and families visiting campus for the two-day freshman orientation sessions.
When you see these people, please take a moment to join me in offering them a smile and a welcome to our campus. You will recognize the visitors by their lanyards: parents wear yellow and students, blue.
This year, during 11 different sessions, the university is hosting nearly 10,000 incoming students and guests.
Freshman orientation provides our incoming students a valuable transitional experience welcoming them to the Northern Arizona University Lumberjack family.
The goal of our quality transitional programming for students and family members is to create a strong and lasting connection to the university. We achieve that by connecting them with support services, extracurricular activities, academic advising and fun. In addition, we connect students with other new students in their orientation groups. Leading those groups are True Blue Ambassadors.
True Blue Ambassadors are experienced upper-class students who have been highly trained in everything the university has to offer. Because of their customer service and leaderships skills, the True Blue Ambassadors create exceptional connections and give every guest who attends orientation a fun and educational experience.
At orientation, students meet with their True Blue Ambassadors, who share their own college experiences and walk students through information about the university such as enrolling in classes.
On tours, incoming students experience NAU’s beautiful green spaces while learning about the many important campus locations like the the historic North Quad lawn, the University Union, the Health and Learning Center and the Gateway Student Success Center.
For information about Orientation visit our website http://nau.edu/welcome.