While many University of Mississippi engineering students headed home for the summer to take on jobs or traveled for vacation, Colton Singleton and Rodrick “Leo” Rogers remained in Oxford to support programs led by the Office of Admissions and the Office of Outreach and Continuing Programs.
Both Singleton and Rogers hold leadership roles within programs that help incoming UM freshmen as well as students still in high school. These roles also help them develop as student leaders and gain skills that will help them in their careers.
During the 2015 fall semester, Singleton learned of the opportunity to apply to be an orientation leader. Orientation leaders are students who lead small groups of freshmen during their summer orientation sessions, guiding families around campus, answering myriad questions about campus services and opportunities as well as provide assistance in other areas to make orientation a welcoming experience for new students and their parents.
Students who serve as orientation leaders also have a chance to represent the university at the Southern Regional Orientation Workshop.
A sophomore electrical engineering major from Erin, Tennessee, Singleton decided to apply for this role as a result of his own experience during orientation.
“Coming from a small town and being nervous about coming to Ole Miss, I had doubts about orientation,” he said. “My orientation leader quickly took me under her wing and made me feel at home during my orientation session. I soon fell in love with Ole Miss and everything it has to offer.”
To prepare for the role, Singleton reflected on his high school leadership experiences. However, he was unsure if he would be selected to work with the orientation staff.
“When I began applying, I did not feel that I fit the energetic orientation leader mold,” Singleton said. “I’m very introverted and didn’t know what to expect from the process.”
Singleton is thankful that the orientation staff seeks diversity in the leaders that can benefit the team and can represent the university in the most positive way. Singleton was the only engineering major selected to serve as an orientation leader.
His favorite thing about serving as an orientation leader was meeting all the new incoming students and making connections with them. It helped him realize that Ole Miss welcomes students from across the country and across the world.
Singleton enjoyed the learning experience and hopes to take what he has learned into future positions. His work with the Office of Admissions, however, did not end when orientation finished. In July, he served as a group leader for the APEX Leadership Summit for high school seniors, also sponsored by the Office of Admissions.
Rogers, also an electrical engineering major, serves as a counselor for the Summer Academy program hosted by the Office of Outreach. The academy gives students entering the eighth, ninth or 10th grades a taste of college life through a two-week residential academic program.
Summer Academy offers two sessions with different courses offered each session. Students can earn a one-half Carnegie unit that may be counted by their high school toward graduation.
An Oxford native, Rogers learned of the position through a family connection and through having served as a mentor for Summer Academy last summer.
Students who serve in these roles receive training from the Office of Outreach in a variety of areas, such as working with minors on a college campus. As a counselor, Rogers is responsible for the well-being of the student participants. He lives in a residence hall with the students in Summer Academy and leads them around campus to places such as the Rebel Market for meals and to other campus facilities for meetings and activities.
The goal is to give the students an early look into college life while ensuring they have a good experience on campus.
“My favorite thing about serving as a counselor is when the students come to sit with us at meals, because it helps us know that the students are having a good time,” he said. “We get to know the students personally even though they are only on campus for a limited amount of time. I was able to encourage one of our students to consider majoring in engineering in college.”
Because these students are at a formative age, Rogers hopes they will learn how to get along with others despite their differences. He also hopes that the students gain new perspectives about being on a college campus and what opportunities are available to them after graduation.
Some of the program’s participants are already looking at their college options, Rogers said, and he enjoys being able to answer questions from a university student perspective.
Besides his work with Summer Academy, Rogers is working on research with Matthew Morrison, assistant professor of electrical engineering. He is also a member of the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College.
Both Singleton and Rogers encourage more engineers to consider applying for positions like theirs in the future as they feel that it is important for engineering students to be well-represented in campus life.