Every
summer, Penn State Abington hosts
seven orientation sessions for incoming freshmen, with two more sessions held
in late August and early January. The sessions teach students about the
basics of the Penn State system, show them how to create schedules and advocate
involvement in student organizations.
The purpose of this
page is to preserve information about the orientation program so that it is not
lost over time. The things here may be of interest to future orientation
leaders as they see how far the program has come in just a few years.
You'll find videos, graphics, and slideshows
from orientation sessions as far back as 2000. These files are very
large. Modern broadband connections should have no problem downloading
these in under two minutes, but dialup users might want to consider going to a
public library or to the campus itself to watch.
Downloading the full quality videos requires the
DivX codec. Download it here.
Yearly
Videos
Each year, Steve
Sokolowski, with the help of Dane Zdunowski and other orientation leaders,
produced a video highlighting the crew's accomplishments (or, judging from the
videos, the seeming lack thereof). In 2005, Erin Dooley produced another
slideshow to show on New Student day that featured baby pictures of orientation
leaders.
"SURVIVOR:
Orientation" Shown: July 18, 2003 Size: 76.5MB Length: 2m
56s Download full quality:
PSUOrientation2003.avi
This video combined clips that had been
specially gathered on July 11, 2003 to create a mock introduction for the
television show "SURVIVOR." The purpose of the video was to
introduce Ninad Pendharkar, 2002-2003 SGA President and 2003 graduate, who was
decked out in then-WWF apparel. When the video concluded, Ninad danced to
Indian music.
Leaders included in this 2003
video:
Laura Lindsey
Bridget Daly
Ashley
Martin
Steve Sokolowski
Regina Fetterolf
Jackie
Vega
Monica Farrell
Dane Zdunowski
Erin Dooley
Kevin Fox
Diana Leygerman
Leilani Tesoro
Tina
Zarroli
Ryan Merrigan
Lisa Christ
EJ Catagnos
Rebecca Trubilla
Melissa Wojcik
Christina Mobarek
Julia Cheskis
Mai Diep
Jenna Backer
Denise
Pettus
Gary Spross
Hector Monegro
"The Way Dr. Bob Moves" (Explicit Lyrics) Shown: July 23, 2004 Size:
29.7MB Length: 3m 38s Download full quality: PSUOrientat
ion2004.avi
It's no secret that Dr.
Bob hates rap music, and he hates rap music with profanity even more.
That's why, for his 40th birthday, the orientation leaders whipped up this
gem. The end of the video introduces Ninad (now a medical student) and
Dane Zdunowski for their traditional Indian dance. When the dance
concluded, everyone donned SpongeBob hats and sang "Happy
Birthday."
"Win" Shown: August 5, 2005 Size: 46.6MB Length: 4m
26s Download full quality: PSUOrientat
ion2005.avi
Unlike the prior two years, nobody was
asked to act for the camera. In fact, the secret was kept until the final
orientation day.In contrast to the previous years' comedic shows,
this video is a tribute to the hard work not only of the orientation leaders,
but also of the staff members who have made the program into the best of Penn
State, and among the best of all universities in the country.
New Student Day and "Infants to
OLs" Shown: August 29, 2005 Size: 184.1MB Length: 20m 39s Erin2005.zip Erin Dooley produced this slideshow to be shown on New Student Day as a
farewell gift. The "Infants to OLs" section was a result of baby pictures and
quotes gathered earlier in the orientation season. This slideshow focuses more
on OLs than the "Win" video, which focused on the different parts of
the day itself, including the freshmen. Microsoft PowerPoint 2003 is
recommended.
Other Videos
Freshmen Feud/Top Ten/Closing Taped: August 1, 2003
Size: 113.0MB Length: 14m 43s FreshmenFeud2
003.avi This file is part of a DVD recorded of Freshmen Feud, when
it was in its infancy. There was a power outage due to a thunderstorm that
ended just two minutes before the taping of this video began. Dane
Zdunowski is shown as host, with Steve Sokolowski on computer and Tracy Reed on
lighting. Note how the introductory video is absent, the audience
challenge is conducted differently, there is no question music, and the graphics
are changed.
"We Are Penn
State" Shown: 2003 Season Size: 33.9MB Length 1m 30s
Download full quality: WeAre.avi
This video concluded the 2003 opening
slideshow. When 9:30am approached, Dr. Bob would give a signal, and the
slideshow would be phased into this video, which set the stage for his opening
comments.
Slideshows
As recent as 2000, the morning slideshow contained little music and
few pictures. Now, the show includes full-motion video and special
effects. All slideshows below are in Microsoft PowerPoint
format.
2002 Season
Size: 44.5MB Length: 22m 58s PSUSlideshow2
002.zip This slideshow was authored by
Luis Ruiz-Alomar, who served as Student Government Association Treasurer for the
2001-2002 academic year.
Old
Top Ten (circa 2002) Size: 450KB OldTopTen.ppt The Top Ten slideshow was redesigned in 2003 by Steve Sokolowski.
This slideshow was used previously.
2nd Annual Leadership Banquet (May 2, 2003) Sizes: 690MB
(high-definition 1080p) / 49MB (low quality) High-definition
1080p Low
quality This slideshow was shown at the 2003 Penn State Abington
Leadership Banquet. It honors thousands of students who attended Penn State
during the 2002-2003 academic year.
Images and documents
T-Shirt Progression Size: 1.9MB OrientationS
hirts.zip This file contains images of the uniforms worn by
orientation leaders from 2002-2004. The choice of pants, white khakis,
remained the same. Note the dramatic departure from the traditional
uniform in 2004. That baseball shirt was designed by Erin Dooley and Lisa
Christ.
Training Documents and
Master Schedules Sizes: 2-6MB Orientation200
1.zip Orientation200
3.zip Orientation200
4.zip These documents of historical interest were scavenged from
training binders of previous years. The July 2001 master schedule shows
the program while "Real Life at Penn State Abington" still
existed. Also included in the file are documents with suggestions of
speaking topics for that session. The 2003 training sessions were "F
ISH!" themed and a "Choose your attitude!" flyer is
included.
Orientation Website
Script Taped: September 9, 2003 Size: 26KB Website.doc This document is the script that was used by Ashley Martin and Steve
Sokolowski to create the feature now found on Penn State Abington's website
describing the orientation process. That site is linked at the top of the
page.
Other Photographs
Photographs of freshmen and leaders from the 2002, 2003 and 2004 orientation seasons can be found in the Penn State Picture Gallery.
Many of these pictures were used in slideshows on New Student Days in the past.