Orientation is more than a welcome week
Tracy Tran takes a photo every year with friends she met during Orientation.
They're dressed in different faculty colours and spirit wear, a reminder of the week they first met as new students at the University of Waterloo. What began as a shared excitement about Orientation has become an annual tradition.
For Tran, an Honours Planning student in the Faculty of Environment, those friendships are one of the lasting benefits of an Orientation experience that helped turn a new campus into a community.
"As a first year, I was the type of student who was eager to get involved in all the programming and loved celebrating school spirit," Tran says. Living in residence introduced her to students from across the University and gave her a glimpse into the unique cultures that define each faculty. But it was Environment Orientation that quickly made her feel at home. Environment's welcome has been shaped by traditions that are unlike anywhere else on campus.
One of the best-known is the story of the Big Banana. Faculty lore traces its origin back to an enthusiastic first-year student nicknamed "Goatball," who found a banana costume and wore it throughout Orientation Week. Over time, the Big Banana became a symbol of Environment's community spirit. The tradition lives on today. First-year students receive green "Banan-danas," and the Goatball Award recognizes students who bring enthusiasm, leadership and kindness to Orientation activities.
While the faculty recently introduced a new official mascot, the Bee, the spirit behind those traditions remains the same. That spirit can often be found at the Bee Stand, formerly known as the Banana Stand. Situated along Ring Road during Orientation Week, the stand functions as a home base for students and leaders, but it also attracts parents, alumni and curious visitors passing by. Tran remembers it as a place where small moments of connection happened naturally.
One year, a group of runners passed by the stand and stopped long enough to accept bananas and encouragement from volunteers. Soon afterward, parents pulled over to ask questions about the faculty and student life at Waterloo. The interactions were brief, but they reflected the welcoming atmosphere that defines Environment Orientation. "The best part was how unique the energy is," Tran says. "This is the only time of the year when this many students are outside on campus at once and the excitement of a new beginning is felt by all students, not just first years."
The experience made a strong enough impression that she decided to return as a volunteer. Some of the first upper-year students she met during Orientation became mentors and friends. Years later, she still remembers seeing familiar faces around campus and feeling a little more confident because of it.
Since she began volunteering at Orientation, one experience in particular reinforced her belief in its value. While helping families during move-in, she met parents who spoke the same language as she did. As they asked questions about university life and living away from home for the first time, she noticed their worries begin to ease. The conversation reminded her of her own family's experience when she first arrived at Waterloo.
"Seeing impacts like these is the reason why orientation is so important to me," she says.
Today, Tran volunteers alongside some of the friends she made during her first Orientation. Together, they work on creating the same welcoming experience they once received. As another group of Environment students prepares to arrive on campus, Tran hopes they'll take a chance on something new.
"Your university experience is what you make of it," she says. "Actively decide to put yourself in a position to experience new things."
For her, that decision started with Environment Orientation, a week that introduced her to faculty traditions, lifelong friendships and a community she calls home.
