CSB/SJU Orientation Coordinators 2010

If you have any questions regarding new student orientation, please e-mail the orientation office at orientation@csbsju.edu 

...or call 320-363-5254 to talk with one of this year's Orientation Coordinators:

• Alison Gresback
• Kate Boline
• Bryan Jasperson
• Charlie Swanson

 

Alison Gresback

Year: Junior

Major(s)/Minor(s): Psychology Major, minoring in departmental exploration (*NOTE: this is not a real minor but instead, an acknowledgement that I like to dabble my feet in every area possible!  This is the one chance in our life we have to take classes that interest us, so why not take advantage of it!)

Activities and clubs on campus: Official involvement:  ORIENTATION COORDIATOR 2010!!  Upper Class Representative, St. Ben’s Senate.  Magis.  CSB Health Advocate.  RORE. Independent Psychology research.  Intramural sports (*NOTE: part of the 2009 Halloween Kickball Champion Team!!)

As far as other activities on campus that engage in that do not have official membership lists:

• I am an avid reader of our school newspaper, The Record
• I like getting caught up in the ghost stories of the area
• It is a personal goal to run the entire trail from St. Ben’s to St. John’s with no brakes to tie my shoes by graduation
• Frequent runs to the Savers store in St. Cloud help keep my closet fresh (although not necessarily with the latest fashion trends)
• Variety is the spice of life so I try to live by the motto...If I’ve done it once, don’t ask me to do it again unless I get to wear a costume.

Favorite part of the orientation experience OR why I'm an orientation coordinator: Something about this school obviously caught my attention otherwise I would have gotten right back in the car and went home with my family the day they dropped me off.  Our car was unpacked by complete strangers with smiles on their faces within two minutes of our arrival and I think the compassion and hospitality of everyone on campus assured my parents we had made the right decision.  The Family Mass on the day my parents dropped me off signified my first actualization into the college experience.  During mass, I definitely was tearing up as I began to realize that I was about to be on my own for the first real time in my life.  We walked out of the chapel as I bid my parents goodbye.  The tears flowed down my cheeks as the whole college experience encompassed me.  That night at the Opening Night Dinner all of the St. Ben’s First Years light candles in significance of letting our own light shine among our community and into the greater world.  Seeing that light move throughout the room helped me realize that many other women in that room were in the same boat as I was.  I didn’t know it then, but these women have now become my best friends, comrades, classmates, motivators, shoulders to cry on, and sharers of the appreciation and goals of greater things in life.  They will most likely be Godparents to my children, bridesmaids in my wedding, and hold a special place in my heart for many, many years to come.  The St. Ben’s experience is one that I cannot begin to explain in writing—it  does not do it justice.  You have to come here and live it.  

I am an Orientation Coordinator because I truly believe in everything this school stands for.  St. Ben’s has been such a huge part of my development over the past few years and Orientation is the perfect time to share my passions for this school with the school’s future—the First Years.  Welcome to the College of Saint Benedict.

 

Kate Boline

Year: Junior

Major(s)/Minor(s): Social Science major, Secondary Education minor, concentration in conquering the world

Activities and clubs on campus: Official" involvement: ORIENTATION COORDINATOR 2010! Fast Forward Youth Program, Admissions Ambassador, Education Club, Intramural Sports (*NOTE: self-appointed MVP of 2009 Halloween Kickball Champion Team)

"unofficial" involvement: Sudoku puzzles, making up ghost stories of the area for Alison, arts and crafts, baking my way into everyone's heart, and adding variety and spice to Alison's life by driving her to Savers to keep her closet fresh to death...

Favorite part of the orientation experience OR why I’m an orientation coordinator: The orientation experience is one of the first, and strongest memories incoming first years will have of college for the rest of their lives. The hospitality and genuine kindness that students from CSB and SJU showed me as a first year left me compelled to do the same for others. I was blessed to have such an amazing experience during orientation that I became motivated to be contributor to the team that made me feel so comfortable and home. The women that you share everything with from living space, to classes, to laughs, to a shoulder to cry on, become more than friends and acquaintances, they become family.  A wise OC once said, "A house is made of walls and beams; a home is built with love and dreams." The College of Saint Benedict and Saint Johns University truly becomes a home away from home.

 

Bryan Jasperson

Year: 2011

Major(s)/Minor(s): Hispanic Studies, Political Science, Peace Studies

Activities and clubs on campus:  Amnesty International, CSB/SJU Sustainability Commission, St. John's Abbey Guesthouse Receptionist, a Plethora of Intramural Sports

Favorite part of the orientation experience OR why I’m an orientation coordinator:  I am part of the orientation extravaganza because it is a great outlet to make a lasting imperssion on the CSB/SJU community whilst working with sensational people.  Also, the chicken kiev at the SJU President's Dinner is unreal.

 

Charlies Swanson

Year: 2011

Major(s)/Minor(s): BioChemistry major, Math Minor

Activities and clubs on campus: Orientation Coordinator, SJU Senator, Supervisors of Student Ambassadors, Organic Chemistry T.A., Arboretum Volunteer, Cribbage league, Fishing Club, Intramural Sports

Favorite part of the orientation experience OR why I’m an orientation coordinator: Easily the best part of orientation is seeing first years having a great time, enjoying their first year because of the hard work you put into their orientation. Then comes the rewarding experience of seeing kids from your OL group apply to become an OL to do same for others. The cycle is a strong one.