Summertime. Beach vacations, sunshine, outside gardening, backyard barbecues . . . All essential aspects of a Midwest summer season. And, while there are some courses taking place at Miami in the summertime, the majority of students and faculty are off on adventures or spending time with family and friends.

This means IT Services can take a break, right?

Nope! In fact, the opposite is true. As this is traditionally a time when there are fewer users on campus and less load on our systems, it’s the perfect time to get things upgraded and put new shine on well-loved devices. (It’s also when the parking lots get painted—the more you know!)

One event that IT Services participates in each year is First-Year Orientation. It’s a great way to interface with incoming first-year students and get information out there about some of the awesome services that we provide. In particular, IT Communications and Customer Advocacy gets out there and

But what really goes on during the Oxford Orientation sessions? Come along, and we’ll show you!

Day One: Resource Fair

New students and their families start their Orientation journey by making their way to the Oxford campus and to the Armstrong Student Center, which will be the hub of their activities as they’re here. After some welcoming words from the Orientation and Transition Programs staff, they are sent off to begin their adventure.

As students and their parents filter out of the Fritz Pavilion in Armstrong, the Resource Fair is there to welcome them to Miami with a proverbial firehose of information right off the bat. Organizations from all across the university set up tables with information about the services and communities they offer.

The IT Services table is easy to spot: It’s the one with the giant television screen with the rotating presentation of information. (We figured that since we’re the “technology” group, we should have some tech to represent our offerings!) At the table, we are able to answer any questions about technology—including what laptops we recommend to incoming students (visit MiamiOH.edu/techlounge for all our recs!); whether we offer Microsoft Office for free (we do!); and what’s included in the free streaming television students have access to in their residence hall rooms (local news and sports!).

"Orientation is always a great opportunity to meet new students and ensure they have the skills and resources they need," said Support Analyst Skylar Hamilton, who staffs the Tech Support Lounge and assisted multiple days during the resource fair. "It’s truly rewarding to be involved in something that has a positive impact on their journey."

We distribute handouts and help families navigate the transition to college. We can even point them in the direction of lunch! The point is to provide a happy, helpful face to folks who are making a huge transition and let them know that Miami is welcoming them with open arms.

Day Two: Presentation to Families

Day two starts out bright and early with a 7 a.m. breakfast buffet, followed by a couple hours of information provided by the Orientation and Transition Programs team (like a list of resources for the families of new students). Then, while the students are shuffled off to register for their first semester of courses, their families are sent in a different direction—to learn more about the support and resources available to their students.

One such presentation that they can attend is called Tech Talk: IT Services. We give incoming families a taste of the technologies that their students will be using as they are here. Just as a taste of the content . . . We talk about Google Workspace (and how every student gets 500 GB in Drive!); we give them an overview of how the support system works (self-service Knowledge Base of 1,000 articles; 24/7 IT Help via phone and chat; hands-on support weekdays at the Tech Support Lounge); and we talk about recommendations for laptops (get a manufacturer warranty!).

The thing we want families to take away from this presentation is mostly that IT Services is here to help. Their students are not alone here and they can get support in many different forms. The family members of our students will receive a 2 a.m. panicked phone call from their child at some point—to the tenor of “I can’t log in to Canvas and I have to submit an assignment” or “My Wi-Fi is completely out, what do I do?” And we urge the families to practice saying: “Have you called IT yet?” After all, part of the college experience is about learning how to find the help you need and becoming autonomous as an individual. IT Services is here to help them solve their problems after they leave the nest.

Familiar faces, opportunities to connect

This isn’t just an IT Communications roadshow. We extend an invite to all of IT Services to join us at our resource fair table. This way, folks from the administrative side of the house are able to interact with students as well!

“I really liked being able to see the excitement of the incoming students as they went from table to table,” said Danielle Snyder, accessible procurement specialist. “Helping at the IT table, you can also see the relief from parents or students as their questions or concerns are answered.”

"Both students and parents seem happy and relieved to receive IT related information, predominantly laptop related," said Alex Kauchak, application software developer. "A friendly hello and a willingness to help creates a comfortable and pleasant dialogue between IT Services volunteers and incoming students and parents."

Welcome class of 2029! IT Services is so glad that you are here!