Newest orientation coordinators reflect on OFYE experiences

Three years ago, Aeriel Revivo, ‘28, began her first year at Lehigh feeling nervous. But she was quickly comforted by her orientation leader, who’d later shape much of her college experience. 

Now, after serving two years as an orientation leader herself, Revivo has been selected as an orientation coordinator and is training for her new position with the Office of First-Year Experience.

Revivo is one of eight students selected as orientation coordinators, who are tasked with overseeing all on-campus orientations. 

Orientation coordinators work behind the scenes — supporting the orientation leaders, conducting training, answering questions and dealing with issues that may arise.

Students typically move through orientation leadership positions beginning as an orientation leader, then reapplying to be a returning orientation leader and finally enduring the most selective process of applying for orientation coordinator.

Revivo said becoming an orientation coordinator felt like a continuation of why she wanted to be on the orientation staff to begin with. 

Her own orientation leader, Ali Noble, ‘27, became a mentor for Revivo throughout her first year at Lehigh. Revivo said Noble was someone she looked up to for advice on how to get involved on campus.

“Every single thing I did at Lehigh was because I met Ali,” Revivo said.

This sentiment is echoed throughout the Office of First-Year Experience. Ella Rome, ‘29, said Revivo served the same mentorship role as her orientation leader. 

Rome said she didn’t originally plan to become an orientation leader, and joked she didn’t know why students would want to come back to school early in the summer to work orientation. 

As she became closer to Revivo, she said that sentiment began to change.

Rome said Revivo stayed in touch with her group after orientation ended, which helped the two grow closer. She talked to Revivo about wanting to get involved on campus, and Revivo urged her to apply to be an orientation leader.

“Being an orientation leader literally changed my life,” Rome said. 

Now, she’s excited to watch Revivo become orientation coordinator.

“It’s crazy to think she was my orientation leader,” Rome said. “Now I get to watch her be an (orientation coordinator) and run orientation.”

For every year she has spent working for the Office of First-Year Experience, Revivo said she learned something new about leadership. 

Revivo said her initial year as an orientation leader taught her how to develop her own leadership skills, while her second year she focused on discovering how to effectively guide others. 

“Now, an orientation coordinator feels like the third step in that, learning how to support everyone, the entire staff and also the first-years,” Revivo said.

During orientation, first-years are divided by colors and numbers. Similarly, during orientation training for orientation leaders, the leaders are designated by “color families.” The orientation coordinators act as the leader of these “families” to guide trainees. 

Another selected orientation coordinator, Rachel Greca, ‘28, said she joined during her first year as a way to get more involved on campus.

Before joining the Office of First-Year Experience, Greca said she struggled to find a strong sense of community at Lehigh. After the first orientation training session, when she would see other orientation coordinators on campus, they’d smile, wave or stop to say hello.

She said those small interactions made her feel like she had a larger group of people behind her.

“It’s the reason why I stayed at Lehigh,” Greca said.

As an orientation coordinator, Greca said she’s looking forward to becoming closer with the other seven students in the role and working more directly with the professional staff. 

She’s also excited to have a larger role in making changes to the program.

Shortly after receiving the role, the eight orientation coordinators attended a camping retreat in the Pocono Mountains. 

Charlie Ettinger, ‘28, was also selected as an orientation coordinator. He said during the retreat, the group reflected on what could be changed and improved for the next orientation. 

The trip also included various bonding activities.

Ettinger said his time working for the Office of First-Year Experience helped the way he saw himself as a leader.

He said he was worried about whether or not his first-years would like him before his first orientation as an orientation leader.

Since then, Ettinger said orientation has helped him become more confident, more comfortable with public speaking and better at adapting when things don’t go as planned.

“If you told me I would be leading a group of 18 students on my own, I definitely would not have thought that,” Ettinger said.

His decision to apply for orientation coordinator was also influenced by his experience with his orientation coordinator, Riley Hillen, ’27.

Ettinger said he took much advice from Hillen, and he was able to implement that advice with his own first-year group.

He said becoming a coordinator gives him a chance to have an impact on a larger group of people. Instead of working with only one group of first-years, he will now help support more than 100 orientation leaders.

Revivo, Greca and Ettinger all gave the same answer when asked to describe the Office of First-Year Experience in one word: community.

As Revivo, Greca and Ettinger prepare for orientation fall 2027, their roles will look different from the ones they’ve held in previous years. They will spend less time leading individual groups and more time helping the orientation leaders with their own groups.

For Revivo, that means finally having a color family of her own to support.

“I’m really excited to kind of have (a color family) of my own,” Revivo said.