Fall and Spring Orientations are always a high-energy and fast-paced experience at Global UCF. We typically have an intake of 150-250 students, so it is very busy. This is my favorite time of year!
One of my responsibilities as the Global UCF Career Accelerator Manager is to train and supervise our amazing group of 25 student staff Go-Teamers who work throughout Orientation Week and beyond to create a welcoming and inclusive community for incoming international students. At Global UCF we run multiple cultural events throughout the year, including International Education Week events, and our student staff truly does a fantastic job.
During new student orientation, we typically have a large intake; about 100-200 students per semester, with Fall being our largest intake. Our Go-Teamers assist new students from all over the world, sharing their depth of UCF pride and campus knowledge while liaising with partnerships across campus such as Housing and Residence Life, Dining, and Health Services. I always enjoy teaching the professionalism onboarding session to prepare our student staff to welcome diverse cultures to the US while ensuring our employee expectations are met.
I designed and delivered the Go-Teamer student staff training, including a fun-filled case study and True Colors activity to create team cohesion. Below is a summary of the training and tips for training and developing student staff.
Student Staff Training Objectives
• Student Staff Professionalism
• Serving as a Student Leader
• Dress Code for Success
• Professional Communication Expectations
• Exemplifying Professional Traits
• Importance of Your Career Development
• Building Your Social Media Presence and Brand
• Team-Building Activities
Training Alignment with Mission, Vision, Values
In the Professionalism Training I delivered, I provided the students with a big picture overview of the Global UCF mission, values, and objectives. I let new student employees know how their work will connect with the overall mission.
Student Staff Responsibilities and Professionalism in the Workplace
In this part of the training, I emphasized how our student staff creates a welcoming and inclusive community for incoming Global UCF students. They are in charge of leading small groups and planning various cultural and educational events. They serve as a role model for incoming international students by demonstrating social engagement and leadership. They assist in the planning and implementation of Orientation Week and they represent Global UCF positively to new students while sharing campus knowledge. We work directly with many Global UCF departments and partnerships across campus so I provided an overview of specific department rules and procedures including attendance, punctuality and confidentiality expectations.
Clarifying the Attributes of a Professional
In this segment of the training, I explained why professionalism is important as a student staff member. Our student employees represent us during and after orientation week, therefore our student leaders demonstrate the Global UCF standards for incoming students. Since our Go-Teamers work directly with many Global UCF departments and partnerships across campus, they are truly our image!
Serving as a Student Leader
Representing the college is a large responsibility and our student staff wear many hats in relation to their new incoming student cohort: Mediator, Tutor, Event-planner, Enforcer, Friend, and Employee. They can honestly be the presence that makes or breaks an individual’s perception of the college experience. I lead an open discussion regarding how their own Go-Teamers influenced them positively and negatively, which created reflection on the traits they should embody as positive role models.
Student Staff As Positive Role Models
Demonstrate punctuality, positive attitude, social engagement, maturity and leadership are just a few of the traits and characteristics we want our student employees to demonstrate. It is vital for them to create a positive experience for incoming students as the first point of contact at airport and beyond. It is also important for them to demonstrate ENTHUSIASM! Demonstrating a supportive attitude is so important as they help new students move in and become acclimated to the UCF community and greater US culture. Incoming students will look to emulate their behavior
Dress Code for Employment
It is also very important for our student staff members to wear proper attire such as their Global UCF Shirt, a dark-colored pants/khakis and their Global UCF orientation name tag at all times. Good hygiene is expected and a well-groomed overall appearance.
Professional Communication Expectations
Student staff must demonstrate professional communication at all times as they lead small groups, plan events with multiple Go-Teamers, communicate and build rapport with advisors and deliver effective presentations. They are expected to lead new students, give constructive feedback, and use professional communication with Global UCF students, staff and faculty.
Event Planning Organization In The Workplace
In this portion of the training, I communicate the importance of exemplifying professional traits such as planning events in a structured manner and always writing out a detailed plan of how they will approach their responsibilities. As Go-Teamers, they will plan various events on campus and be responsible for event planning, preparation and breakdown. Much detail is involved in effectively planning an event and organization is the greatest asset they can have to ensure positive results.
Global UCF Representation Across Campus Departments
Create a welcoming and inclusive community for incoming Global UCF students is a huge part of our Go-Teamer role. Not only do our students lead small groups and plan various cultural and educational events, they serve as role models for incoming international students by demonstrating social engagement and leadership. We plan our Orientation week events and they play a large role in assisting in the implementation of those events. Represent Global UCF positively and working directly with many departments and partnerships across campus is also a large component of thei role.
Student Staff Team Building Activity: True Colors and Case Study
True Colors identifies various personality styles and label them with colors. Understanding our personality styles leads to deeper communications and understanding. I used the True Colors activity to maximize the awareness of psychological style in the workplace. The belief is that with increased understanding of ourselves and others that conflict will decrease and effective teamwork increases.
After the True Colors Assessment, students proceeded to participate in active-learning case studies within groups. I added the prompt to the screen and they formulated approaches to assisting new students from various cultures n their transition during orientation week. Reflecting on how each of their colors is reflective of their personality style, they worked together to derive solutions to address cross-cultural differences and transitions.
I lead this activity so that in turn, our student staff can gain awareness regarding their true color and that of their coworkers, providing them with a better understanding of why they behave the way they do. The True Colors inventory promotes the appreciation of individual differences and the self-awareness gained enables individuals to become aware of their personality styles. Overall the activity was amazing and I believe this assessment is valuable for improving student staff effectiveness in working with others.
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