Get Involved

Current students are encouraged to be a part of the Orientation Team by serving as an Orientation Leader or working as an Orientation Intern or Orientation Assistant. Positions are open to all students (after completing orientation, of course!) and are available through the year. Here is a short summary of all of our positions: 

Orientation Leader: This position supports new students during the week of orientation by leading a small group of new students and supporting their transition to Middlebury.  Training is required of all leaders and typically takes place the weeks before orientation. The application for February Orientation Leaders opens in October and closes in November of each year and the Fall Orientation Leader application typically opens in March and closes in early April. When applications are open, you can view them by visiting go/lead. After orientation, leaders are provided a one time payment of $300. Here is a description of the Orientation Leader position:

• Lead a group of incoming new students in small group discussion and activities, with co-leads, for up to two hours each day during orientation.
• Support students in their academic journey during the course registration process.
• Facilitate and lead MiddThrives, Green Dot, campus tours, and New Student Weekend activities during orientation.
• Be active risk managers, recognizing and mitigating risks associated within orientation groups, both physical and emotional.
• Be aware of how personal values, assumptions, motivations, and positionality (structural identities like race, class, gender, ability, etc.) influence interactions with participants, co-leads, and community partners assuming a leadership role
• Must be willing to commit and follow campus policies around substance-free participation in all orientation leader training and orientation-week activities.
• Practice clear, direct, and open communication with your co-leader and your group.
• Create a welcoming and inclusive community dynamic within your group.
• Attend all required orientation leader training sessions.

Orientation Assistants: This position is paid and supports the logistics during leader training and orientation weeks. This is typically a temporary, three-week position. February Orientation Assistants typically work 20-30 hours a week and up to 40 hours during the week of February Orientation. Orientation Assistants typically work up to 40 hours per week. Applications for this position typically open in March for MiddView and December for February Orientation. To learn more about this position for Fall 2023 Orientation, click here.

Orientation Interns: Interns working with Orientation are crucial to the inner workings of planning and implementing orientation programs year to year. There are typically multiple internship positions and areas of focus available for students to apply. We offer paid academic year positions that work to primarily plan February Orientation and then begin the spring planning of Fall Orientation. This position typically works 5-10 hours a week and full time during the week of February Orientation. Academic year intern positions open in September and close in October and work throughout the year until May. Summer intern positions begin in June and work through Fall Orientation, with the position ending around the second week in September. Summer internships are full time throughout the summer and throughout Fall Orientation. We typically hire 4 summer interns each summer. To learn more about this position for Fall 2023 Orientation, click here.

Questions? Email orientation@middlebury.edu.