Fall Orientation is instrumental in many ways: It gives incoming students a foothold on the particular and sometimes precarious terrain of Kenyon social norms, it primes first years for the turmoil of Plan Ahead that will continue to plague their next four years and it facilitates the first friendships that will guide their Kenyon experience (or, in true first-year fashion, will dissipate in the next month). In some special cases, these orientation groups are grounds for long-lasting friendships – not necessarily between first-year orientees, but among orientation leaders and their group members. 

Many orientation leaders (often shortened affectionately to OLs) choose to keep in contact with their group members after Orientation, either through a friendly wave on Middle Path or a passing comment. “I’ve kept in touch with several of my orientees, mostly just by checking in when I see them around campus, shooting periodic texts in the GroupMe and always being up for help with Plan Ahead or anything else that comes up over their first year,” Laney Goodrum ’26, an OL of three years, said in an interview with the Collegian. “I try to keep it reasonably professional with my students, but over time it’s really beautiful to see new students fully integrate into the fabric of campus, becoming as much a part of your orbit as any other friend,” she said. After a while, new students adapt to Kenyon’s inner world and may not need as much help with the technicalities of Plan Ahead. However, Kenyon’s characteristically small student body enables first years and their former mentors to interact long after Orientation Week ends, often finding each other at club meetings, parties and, of course, in Peirce Hall. 

 Goodrum recounts that her friendship with former group member Cameron Cretaro ’28 extended beyond the hierarchical relationship of a mentor and mentee when Cretaro became an OL the following year. While working together during Orientation Week, the two got to know each other more personally. “Becoming friends with Cameron has been so rewarding – I mean, first of all, seeing someone grow so much over their time at Kenyon is just the best. I’ve gotten to watch so many of my former group members absolutely thrive here and I love knowing that I might’ve played a tiny part of that,” Goodrum said. “Our friendship has certainly changed and grown over time in a way that’s mindful of our mentor/mentee reality while also grounded in a real sense of equality and trust. I think that Cameron and I have also struck that balance really nicely and I feel so fortunate to [Orientation] Group 28 for introducing me to such a great friend!” Even though OLs once taught their former group members the essentials of schedule building, their relationships, like any other, are based on reciprocity. “The sophomores keep me young,” Goodrum told the Collegian. “I keep learning new internet vocabulary words.”

Due to the structure of orientation groups, many OLs have overlapping interests and majors with their former students. However, the friendship between Phoebe MacIntosh ’27 and Osose Omofomah ’26 was facilitated by the power of shared meal times. MacIntosh rekindled her connection with Omofomah, her former OL, during her sophomore year, when the two began eating meals together regularly. “It’s a friendship based on breakfast,” she wrote in an email to the Collegian. “During Orientation, I remember saying something about being a morning person and Osose was like, ‘Okay, sure … everyone says they’re gonna wake up early.’ So every day I’d see him at breakfast and feel smug about it.” Omofomah agreed, also writing in an email to the Collegian: “We became friends through a mutual friend who would bring us together for breakfast. …We’re also both pretty consistent about going to breakfast and so we would talk almost every day.” Despite their commitment to Peirce meals (a passion shared by many routine breakfast-goers, as any survey of the dining hall before 9 a.m. will reveal the same familiar faces), the two agreed that their friendship was an unexpected development. “When we met I liked Osose’s sense of humor and was intrigued by some personal things he mentioned – his sci-fi novel, his omelette preferences, his move from economics and English to drama and film – but I didn’t think we’d become friends because we rarely saw each other outside of breakfast,” MacIntosh told the Collegian. 

However unprecedented, their breakfast meetups proved a welcome development. “I finally had someone to talk to about my favorite play, ‘Dance Nation.’ Osose is also super involved on campus, which inspired me to join more clubs and attend more performances,” MacIntosh wrote. Omofomah, a former English major, attested that their breakfast meetups “[were] a way for me to stay in touch with the going-ons of the English department because Phoebe and I would frequently talk about her English classes.” 

For Maddie Barbar ’27 and former OL Ryan Sellers ’26, their friendship started during Orientation, a famously tumultuous time in any underclassman’s life. “I would always see her in the library, so I’d stop by to check in and see how her freshman year was going,” Sellers told the Collegian. Fall Orientation is an emotionally-charged experience, so OLs play an important role in making sure their students feel welcomed and supported. “I remember during the first week Ryan took me to Old Side to eat dinner with some other people in our group. He introduced me to some of his friends. It was the first time I felt excited and included at Kenyon. Even after Orientation, he would always say hi to me and check up on me. Whether he knew it or not, I needed that reassurance a lot,” Barbar said. 

Both Sellers and Barbar are involved in Greek life and have similar schedules. “I think once Maddie decided to be a political science major, we started taking similar classes and would talk about that, too … At some point, I don’t know, it almost just seemed like we became a part of the same social circles, and have been hanging out together ever since,” Sellers said. Although the duo have many shared interests, Barbar maintains that their relationship is founded on the kindness she first experienced from Sellers during Orientation Week. “I think we remained friends because Ryan was always so kind and supportive of me,” she told the Collegian. “He’s a really genuine, compassionate person and I’m lucky to have him as a friend. Kenyon is lucky to have him as an OL! Not to dwell on it too much, but I had a difficult freshman fall. I needed a welcoming person and he was that.”

“I think if you start pretending you don’t know people you’ve met when you see them around campus, it can harm your chances of a future friendship,” MacIntosh said. OLs play an important role during Orientation Week, but, in special cases, these relationships become more constant sources of support and reciprocity that benefit students and their upperclassmen peers for years to come.