Another Orientation at Innis has passed and this year marks the second year in which Orientation programming was entirely virtual. This decision came following Arts and Science Dean Melanie Woodin’s announcement in June that, “students in Arts & Science will be permitted to attend their classes online for the first two weeks, until September 23^rd”. In an effort to make Orientation accessible to all first year students regardless of where they were located, the Orientation team, led by the Orientation Coordinators myself and Shivani Baldeo, made the decision to keep Orientation as three days of synchronous, online programming. Almost all events were hosted on Zoom, with the remaining activities happening on MS Teams Live. The events included a combination of social, academic, and wellness activities and focused on welcoming new students to the Innis Community.

With the idea of welcoming students in mind, the theme for this year’s Orientation was “Innis Together: Make Yourself at Home”. The “Innis Together” part of the theme integrates established Innis College branding into Orientation, with the hope of creating a lasting Innis College identity and to remind students that orientation and transitioning into university continues past the three days of Orientation in September. “Make Yourself at Home” highlights the close-knit community at Innis and what a “positive, warm and supportive environment” it is. 

This year’s Orientation brought some new changes to the programming, one of which being the integration of three leadership opportunities: the summer e-mentorship program, InSIGHT mentorship, and Orientation Leaders. This shift was intended to create more continuity, as well as allow an opportunity for students to foster meaningful connections with their mentors and the other first year students in their groups. InSIGHT Mentors were hired in the spring and assigned mentees for the entire year, including during Orientation. 

Another change that was made was the addition of sustainable merchandise for the Orientation Kits. This year’s kits included: a 15’’ x 16’’ tote bag, an “Innis Together” branded t-shirt, a package of bamboo utensils and a metal straw, flaming beaver socks, and an “Innis Together” lanyard. All of these items were purchased from a company called Fairware Promotional Products, which has a commitment to sustainable and ethically sourced products. The goal of the kits this year was to put together something that was sustainable and contained items that students could have long-lasting use of.

Innis Orientation saw a mix of recurring and new events this year. One past favourite that made a reappearance was the Keynote Speech and Quiz show by Adam Growe from Cash Cab. A huge success in Orientation 2020, Adam’s speech and Quiz show were once again a success, garnering much engagement from the incoming students. Additionally, many of the informational events that have happened in previous years, such as Pre-UofT and the staff and student panels, were held once again. The Principal’s dinner event also made a reappearance this year in the form of a virtual formal-style event, with students having the opportunity to meet Principal Keil and have a one-on-one conversation with him. 

There were many new social events this year, including a virtual escape room, led by Events Executive Ankhee Paul, and a murder mystery night. The virtual escape room guided students through a number of puzzles, which had them explore university and Innis resources, while trying to escape Innis College. The murder mystery event was run and hosted by Events Executive Curtis Chambers and featured four Innis Insiders who each took on the role of a suspect in the murder. First year students were tasked with interpreting clues to figure out who did it. Additionally, Innis Insider Yona Anderson led an instructional cupcake baking and decorating social event. On the last day of Orientation, students participated in a trivia competition to win points for their house. 

Orientation was rounded out with the annual Harold’s House event, which saw many exciting submissions such as vocal and instrumental performances, tik tok videos, and a skit by Principal Keil. 

Overall, Orientation 2021 was a success with a lot of engagement from first year students. Having had a previous year’s experience with the virtual formatting, the decision to stay online allowed for a smooth execution of events. 

I would like to give a special shout out to all of the people who made Orientation possible this year, including my co-OC, Shivani, our amazing team of Executives and Leaders, and all of the staff at Innis who helped us, especially Madi Frost, the Assistant Dean of Student Life and Dianthi Fernando, the Student Life Coordinator. I would also like to thank all of the first year students who came and participated! 
**If you have yet to receive your orientation kit from Orientation 2020 or Orientation 2021, please sign up for an appointment at this link to pick it up from the Innis College Student Society office, located at 2 Sussex Avenue, Room 107W.