Collegian file photo.
JACKSON BORMAN | NEWS REPORTER | jborman@butler.edu
Student Orientation Guide applications for the Fall of 2017 are now available.
Every first-year student at Butler University goes through Welcome Week alongside their orientation group, and, in turn, their SOG. SOGs are the leaders of these orientation groups and lead discussions, answer questions and connect with students during that week and into their first year of college.
Kaylin Pellegrini is a senior marketing major at Butler. She has been a SOG for the last two years. One of Pellegrini’s favorite parts about being a SOG was the relationships that she was able to build with incoming students.
“You get to be a mentor, but you also get to be these first-year students’ first friend at Butler,” Pellegrini said. “You’re also their first role model, whether you realize it or not.”
First-year political science and Spanish major Alex Jones would agree with this statement.
“The people that I have talked to at other schools say that their SOG equivalents are just people that show them where buildings are,” Jones said. “Whereas here, they really are your friends.”
An orientation group is made up of students who will be in the same First Year Seminar class for that upcoming school year. SOGs are also responsible for helping the new classmates bond by leading ‘ice breaker’ activities and introducing them to one another as well as to campus life and their upcoming college experience.
“You get to show these kids Butler, and, for me, I love Butler so much that I want to tell everybody about it,” Pellegrini said. “I can share my own experiences and help people feel more comfortable.”
First-year exploratory student Melissa Evans said her SOG went above and beyond the call of duty to make her Welcome Week a good one.
“I was super sick, and I had this lovely SOG who would text me and make sure I was okay and gave me the HRC’s number,” Evans said.
Applicants will go through a series of interviews both one-on-one and and group interviews.
“It definitely is not a stressful process, but if you really, really want to be a SOG, it is something that you need to think carefully about and put the time and effort in,” Pellegrini said. “They are looking for people who are genuinely invested and are going to care about the first-year students coming in.”
In order to apply, students must have a 2.75 cumulative GPA. Students applying are also encouraged to have prior leadership experience and co-curricular activities. Applicants must also not be on academic or judicial probation.
All applications are due by 5 p.m. on Jan. 30.
Questions about SOG applications can be sent to orientation@butler.edu or called in to the PuLSE office at 317-940-9262.
