Going away to college gets more exciting each year and as I am entering senior year I wanted to give back to my university. I am a big person when it comes to giving advice and helping people reach their true potential. One of my top strengths is even developer!

So this past year I quit my old job from back home, took a leap of faith to join my school's orientation team and I earned my black polo shirt. At first, I was pretty quiet, was to myself and I felt like everyone already knew each other.

But the thing I had to remember was that they were all in the same boat as me and I am already a senior, so why am I freaking out like I am a freshman and then it dawned on me that I was pretty much putting myself in a pair of freshman shoes and that has helped me connect with the incoming students I have come in contact with this summer.

The team I have worked with has been incredible and I hope we continue to cherish the relationships that we had created this summer. My team has given me a voice and made me feel more comfortable about who I am and opened my eyes to a lot of things that I did not think about if I was back home.

I have learned to think on my feet, to not take things too deep to heart and to get engaged as much as I possibly can. I have gain confidence in speaking in front of people (complete strangers) and to be able to talk positively about my school.

I still remember the day I went into my interview with one of my student directors, he was so friendly and encouraging to me and I am pretty sure he could tell I was freaking out inside but now he was one of my leaders and I work every day to make him and my other leaders proud.

If you ever have a chance to be on your college's new student team, do it. You won't regret. There were days where I was thinking "do I really want to do it?" But then when it's at the end of the day and I look around the circle and see all the amazing people that I met through this position I wouldn't want to spend my summer any other way.

So to my team, thank you for choosing this path with me. We still have more to go through together, but I write this to encourage us all to keep pushing and to make our school proud.

To the incoming students, you are in great hands with your top leaders and don't be afraid to get involved in any way possible.