Cammie Wilks, Campus Carrier features editor
From moving into an unfamiliar campus to experiencing freedom for the first time, the beginning of college is a stressful yet exhilarating adventure for incoming freshmen. After waiting all summer for the start of the school year, new students at Berry are finally allowed to live on campus and admire everything it has to offer, including the deer. However, unlike some upperclassmen, first-year students are required to move in three days early. Viking Venture serves as a critical phase in student orientation, allowing freshmen to become acquainted with campus, learn about different resources offered at Berry before class begins, and make new friends.
Viking Venture kicks off every year on Wednesday, when the incoming freshmen move into their dorms and collect their keys. Whether students are placed in Ford, Dana, Pilgrim and Friendship, or Morton-Lemley, transitioning into the dorms is an exciting yet bittersweet experience for freshmen and their families. During this time, Resident Assistants (RAs) and Berry Bellhops, returning students who volunteer to help freshman carry all of their luggage inside their rooms, run around helping students with the move-in process. Without their help, freshman move-in would be chaotic.
RAs provide long-term assistance for students here at Berry living in their hall. After the application stage, students who are hired as RAs receive training the week before Viking Venture. RAs in freshman dorms specifically meet with the students on their hall to discuss rules and resources that Berry provides. RAs are often the first guide that students are introduced to when they arrive at Berry.
Moving into a dorm for the first time takes more than just one person. | At Berry, not only
are freshmen and their parents moving luggage, but sophomores, juniors and seniors who sign up to be Berry Bellhops pitch in as well.
Sophomore Tynaijah Jacksonis a first-time RA housed in Ford. Jackson and the other RAs have worked diligently to prepare for Viking Venture by participating in training, decorating and planning programs for their halls during the school year.
“I am really excited to just get to know people and also be somebody that the residents look up to,” Jackson said.
Another important element of Viking Venture is when students get to meet their Berry College Course (BCC) mentor and advisor. BCC mentors are upperclassman that help freshmen acclimate to Berry academically and socially. They work hard to guide students not only during Viking Venture, but throughout their entire first semester as well.
One of the BCC mentors for this upcoming academic year is Senior Emily Conaway. Conaway was originally a BCC mentor during her junior year, but now she is returning to assist another batch of freshman with their Berry Journey.
All BCC Mentors moved in a week before Viking Venture to recieve training. Mentors learned about different strategies to help freshmen throughout their first semester at Berry.
“There’s always ups and downs with having a new group of people,” Conaway said. “What I’m focusing on is being able to support them with their ups and downs and discovering how to support them in a different way, because I know that it is not going to be the same as my last class. They are different people.”
During Viking Venture, BCC mentors stick with their assigned students throughout different sessions and activities, including important meetings and community service projects. The mentors make sure to form connections with freshmen and help assist them with anything they may need.
“A bunch of representatives of offices on campus came in and talked to us during training, such as the campus police, the chaplain’s office, Residence Life and others to help us understand how we can support freshmen and things they need know that are not as obvious,” Conaway said. “For example, how the gatehouse works, how to contact Residence Life, how to fill out maintenance forms and other things we have to teach them how to do.”
Associate Dean of Students Lindsay Norman planned this year’s Viking Venture. She began preparation in January with assistance from many departments on campus. One of the challenges during Viking Venture is to provide freshmen with various opportunities to learn about different resources on campus without overloading their schedules. Additionally, Norman makes sure that there are fun, recreational activities that students can participate in and make memories at, such as Rage in the Cage, a themed late-night event geared toward freshmen. After every year, they reevaluate the surveys done by freshmen after Viking Venture to make the next one more successful. Viking Venture is truly a collaborative effort from all of Berry’s departments to welcome freshman.
“My favorite part about Viking Venture is move-in day,” Norman said. “I just think there is something so hopeful and exciting about that day. I think it’s cool we get to be a part of that every year, even though it is not our first year. The first-year students are gracious enough to let us in, and we get to share that joy. I think that it is pretty special, no matter what office you work in.”
Viking Venture is an important first step in not only a student’s Berry Journey, but the next stages of their lives. Though Viking Venture is only four days, it is merely the beginning of a new adventure at Berry.
“Just take it one day at a time,” College President Sandeep Mazumder said. “Don’t overthink it, because it can be overwhelming. Just enjoy every day for what it is.”