Centenary Mentors Recap Orientation 2026
On Friday, July 31, Centenary’s class of 2030 officially moved onto campus. That day also marked the start of orientation weekend for the new students. Centenary’s orientation spans the whole weekend and works to provide students with necessary information for life on campus and to connect new students with each other and their mentors through different fun activities before they start their Centenary in Paris class.
Centenary’s 2026 orientation staff prepare for the freshmen class on July 30, 2026. (Centenary Marketing)
As in most college orientations, there is practical information to be presented to new students. Orientation mentor Natalie Younger says that information such as learning about the Department of Public Safety and Centenary health services is “vital” for new students to learn, even as boring as informational sessions might seem. Younger says that a lot of this information, especially more Centenary-specific information like advice for successfully navigating Paris, is not something a lot of new students come into Orientation thinking about, but it is very important nonetheless.
One hallmark of Orientation at Centenary is the play “What Will You Choose?" Orientation mentor and PR team lead Katie Allen helped to co-direct the play and says it “is a production put on by the orientation staff to help incoming students realize what kind of student they want to be on campus, especially in hard situations.” The play can be jarring for the audience because it uses harsh language and depicts a cruel reality that some students have to face. But, like Allen says, it is important for students to realize how they can and should act on campus if they come across situations similar to the ones depicted in the play.
The orientation mentors also host many fun events during the weekend, from bingo night, where new students had a chance to win prizes for their dorms, to teaching new students the very important skill of Cupid’s “Flex” line dance. Younger says that the activity that most stood out to her was the Orientation Olympics, a series of teamwork-focused relays that forces all of the orientation groups to compete to win. Younger connected the competitiveness and “fun spirit” she saw from the students during the relay with “the drive that Centenary students have, whether that be towards athletics or academics!”
When asked about what they hoped new students would gain from the experience, mentor Trey White says he hopes that “the students gained the knowledge that they can do just about anything they want on campus” and that “they have the ability to be whoever they want to be at Centenary.” Similarly, Allen says that she hoped all new students made a connection on campus, whether with a fellow new student or a mentor. Centenary’s orientation works to connect students with each other and to make them comfortable in their new home for the next four years.