180 Activities, One Welcome: How Barnard Gives Every First-Year a Schedule That Feels Built for Them

**180 Activities, One Welcome: How Barnard Gives Every First-Year a Schedule That Feels Built for Them** Join us on June 25, 2026, for a conversation with Simone Medley, Associate Director of Student Experience and Engagement at Barnard College. A five-day welcome with more than 180 activities should feel like chaos. At Barnard, it feels like an invitation. Barnard's New Student Orientation Program (NSOP) runs five days, offers 180-plus activities, and still leaves first-years feeling like the whole thing was built just for them. In this webinar, Simone walks us through how they make abundance feel like belonging instead of overwhelm—from personalized schedules that keep students from wandering campus lost, to optional activity browsing that builds excitement weeks before move-in, to push notifications that turn a quiet afternoon into a shared moment for the entire class. You'll hear how Barnard thinks about choice, clarity, and safety—including why an invitation-only schedule gives families and staff real peace of mind about student whereabouts, especially on off-campus trips. Whether you're running three orientation sessions or thirty, you'll leave with specific, borrowable moves to bring back to your own campus. Reserve your spot and join us.