Bison Spotlight: Maggie Latterell and Angela Seewald-Marquardt, Student Success Programs

On-campus first-year student orientation at NDSU, which starts in June and runs through early August, is often the first step in preparing for college that many incoming Bison take. Preparations for orientation, however, have been ongoing for more than nine months for two members of NDSU’s Student Success Programs department who comprise the event’s non-student staff.

Maggie Latterell, assistant director of New Student Programs, and Angela Seewald-Marquardt, director of Student Success Programs, work diligently to make sure that each year’s installment gives new students what they need. Given the value of having students well-prepared to start their collegiate career, orientation planning starts in September and runs until setup is complete for the first group of new students’ arrival for their session in early June.

“Beginnings are important, and that’s what orientation really is for our first-year students,” said Seewald-Marquardt. “It allows them to make new connections, learn about resources and to set their expectations for their college experience at NDSU.”

The duo connects with nearly every corner of NDSU, working together with over 40 different departments to put on the event each year. Many of the arrangements are made over the winter months with each area, while other plans are set years prior.

“We need to coordinate when campus spaces will be available for these groups,” said Latterell. “For example, when will the dining center be available? When can each department and each person involved be available? We plan out our dates several years in advance so our partners know when orientation will be happening.”

During the summer, there are 11 current NDSU students who work at each orientation session with Latterell and Seewald-Marquardt. These students start the day by helping the newcomers check in and then participate throughout the session by answering questions and leading discussions with the new Herd members.

“A big reason why we have student staff is that the incoming students and their supporters want to hear more from them than from any talking head in front of the room,” said Seewald-Marquardt. “The student staff lead a session called ‘Creating Connections’ where they have honest discussions about the challenges they’ve faced and how the skills they’ve learned and the resources available at NDSU helped them grow.”

Resources highlighted during the day include: the Career and Advising Center; the Center for Accessibility and Disability Resources; Bison Life; and the Office of Student Engagement. Incoming students are also connected with their academic advisor, who will be a key partner for their collegiate journey.

“As NDSU has moved to the professional advising model, the role of the advisor has become huge,” said Latterell. “In your advisor, you have someone who not only knows your curriculum but is also well-versed in the nuts and bolts of the university. If a student is struggling with ‘X’ their advisor can connect them with ‘Y’ resources, which a student might not be able to find as quickly.”

Once all the orientation days and Welcome Week have concluded in August, the process begins all over again. Starting in September, Seewald-Marquardt and Latterell assess how the current year went and examine feedback from attendees and partner organizations alike to shape the following year’s program.

Frequently, the feedback points directly to opportunities to create new orientation content.

“In 2023 we placed a reflection wall in Legacy Lounge and asked the first-year students to write down what questions they still had,” said Latterell. “We used these questions, like ‘How do you make friends?’ and ‘How do you email a professor?’ to guide a new session called Your NDSU Experience, where the new students ask them to our student leaders.”

First-year student orientation will continue June 23-26 and July 21-24 before concluding on August 3. Incoming students seeking orientation information, including transfer and international students, are encouraged to visit the orientation website.

“When we look over our feedback, we hear so often what a role campus plays for our attendees,” added Seewald-Marquardt. “They say the best part of their orientation wasn’t a specific thing, but how everyone they met was so friendly or how NDSU had such a welcoming atmosphere. The way our people smile and ask them how their day is going makes a big difference. It sets us apart from other schools.”