What's in a Theme?

Every year for Orientation, we try to incorporate a theme throughout the program; something for the Orientation Leaders (OLs) to rally around.  (And by "every year" I mean last year and this year.)  The student interns were SO EXCITED about this year's theme that one of them (Chuck) made a video to introduce it to the Orientation Leaders during OL Training.  Watch it below or on youtube here.

 
With a Superhero theme established, we set to infiltrate the theme in as many ways as possible. Our first order of business was to create a small group of OLs to brainstorm ideas and implement the theme.  We appropriately named them the "Theme Team" and set out to design a logo and t-shirt for OLs to wear during Orientation.

Front of shirt on the left / Back of shirt on the right

 I designed the front of the shirt, but don't be too impressed because the "O" is literally just a font I found on dafont.com.  Chuck designed the back of the shirt, so kudos to him!

We also ordered some accessories for the theme, including some amazing color-it-yourself headbands.  Here they are close up on the left and Katie (OL and Theme Team Member) modeling hers on the right:

Katie is also rocking a do-it-yourself SLAP BRACELET!  Remember those? From the 1980s?  Did you have like 17 of them and coordinate them every day with your outfit?  <<cough cough>> yeah me neither. In case you are pretending that you were never obsessed with them like I am, here is a closeup of those guys:

Sorry about the glare, but it says "The Mastermind" with lightning bolts on either side.  I made it.  But it's not like I wear it all the time or anything.  Okay I do HAPPEN to be wearing it now.

Moving on, here is a closeup of some superhero figurines we bought for the occasion of Orientation:

The Theme Team came up with an awesome idea for the check-in kiosk (where students let us know they are here and pick up their folder and nametag). They created cityscapes to line the whole kiosk.  Very Batman-esque. See example:

I love their subtlety.  I'm sure not every student notices it, but sometimes these playful details help students relax and realize that this is a place they can have some fun, in addition to learning a thing or two!

The Theme Team also took it upon themselves to create some centerpieces for all of the conference room tables.  I could not be more pumped about these centerpieces.  They are absolutely adorable with smidges of interaction and edibility!  The Theme Team bought colorful plastic flowerpots, rigged them with a dowel rod and an upside down plastic cup (for stability), covered the cup with tissue paper and candy, and attached a superhero head to the top, and scattered a few face masks around the table.  Just reading that sounds pretty confusing, so here is a picture:

You can probably also guess that we basically provided a little bit of creative freedom when it came to our Orientation Leaders.  This went for both their attire and their group names.  Each pair of OLs got to select a superhero inspired name for themselves and they came up with everything from the "Smart Phone Warriors" to "Team Epic Power & Positivity."   We have basic guidelines for the clothes - we want everyone to wear their OL t-shirt and either khakis or black pants / appropriate-length shorts. But some people got creative:

Team Ginger Force

Jeff followed my instructions on attire, but added face paint, bird wings, and short red shorts OVER his khakis.  Clever guy, Jeff.  And I'm a huge fan of the signs, all designed by Jacqueline, Jessica and Emily.  Here is the Smart Phone Warriors group having a great time and showing off their sign:

We've had a great time with the theme so far this summer.  I'll be sure to update with any other themed craziness as the rest of the Orientation Season unfolds!