If you are a new face in a new place, like Ryan, it is hard to not to feel a bit awkward at RPI. A free backpack, official handshakes, the Troy scavenger hunt, and freshman olympics were once the high points of Student Orientation.

The first-year experience initiative intended to change that for McKeel and fellow freshman Charlene Chotalal.

McKeel, from Colorado Springs, Colo. and Chotalal, of Brooklyn, N.Y., checked all the right boxes and filled out the necessary Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond registration forms before arriving on campus. Navigating Rensselaer & Beyond was created to "assist all incoming students in connecting with classmates with similar interest, and in becoming somewhat familiar with the campus and exciting opportunities that Troy and the surrounding area have to offer."

On Wednesday, freshmen were scheduled for a full day of activities including choices among Community Connections, Camp Sloane, Urban Exploration, Tour D’ArtPI, and many more. Events offered Thursday were only scheduled for half of the day, and there were more scheduling options.

McKeel participated in the Community Connections, Hudson River Cruise, and Leadership Development programs. "The two days went well—the Leadership Development activity gave me a chance to be connected to the Archer Center and some strategies to use if [I] get involved with student government."

Chotalal’s experience was much more diverse. "The first day I went to Silver Bay—it was boring. We did some writing and then talked about whitewater rafting."

After talking about whitewater rafting, her group did not, in fact, go whitewater rafting. "The second day was nice though, I went on the Hudson River cruise and it was very nice and relaxing," she said.

Chotalal and McKeel both felt the experience was valuable although Chotalal expressed some concerns about the overall program. "The program helped me get into a group, but it kind of forced us to make friends only with people in our dorms. I could have done that on my own, in my own time. It was just too fast."

Resident Assistant Will Cunningham of Nason Hall echoed Chotalal’s concern.

"The first-year experience initiative in general is a great idea, I like the energy and enthusiasm behind the program. But maybe too much is going on at once. The freshmen on my floor were getting tired and some of us are concerned that they might get burned out before classes start," he said.