Every year Mercyhurst University invites its sophomores, juniors and seniors to take part in a program called Laker Leaders. Laker Leaders are the first friendly faces that many of the incoming first-year students will meet.

The program itself comes with a multitude of benefits for both the students partaking and the first years that will experience these leaders firsthand. The importance of these individuals who take part in the program is unmatched.

They are put in a place that al- lows for incoming Lakers to connect with them in hopes of creating an easier transition into college life. Throughout a student’s first week on campus the Laker Leaders will lead orientation groups which help people create a community, meet friends and also get to know one another better.

They also act as a point of contact for the entirety of New Student Welcome and help answer any possible questions that freshmen may have. Laker Leaders also work as teaching assistants in iMU courses where they help the facilitator and students answer questions and set up a curriculum of things that they believe may be important for freshmen to know, or add in points that they wish someone had told them.

If you or anyone you may know are interested in joining the Laker Leader team, there are multiple ways to go about it. The first way is by being nominated. Laker Leader nominations are usually through faculty, staff or current Laker Leaders. These people may think you are a good fit and nominate you. However, just because you were nominated does not mean that you got the position. The other option is applying through the application form on the Student Hub page.

The first step from there is creating a FlipGrid video where you will answer basic questions to see how you would handle certain situations, which will allow for the selection committee to gain a better understanding of who the applicant is as a person.

The final round of interviews will be an in-person group interview where the selection committee will be able to see how you interact in a group that is in person rather than online.

An interview with current Laker Leaders and Katie Neely, who currently runs the Laker Leader program, revealed some of the major benefits to joining the team that people may not have realized.

Neely said, “When joining the team it automatically connects you with a community and allows you to gain a better understanding of who the new individuals on campus are. Those with firsthand experience say that they feel as though they are genuinely making a difference in the lives of the incoming freshmen. It is also a great resume booster for those that are beginning to look for ways to enhance their resumes around campus. This is a great non-demanding way to add the word leader into your resume.”

The deadline for applications this year is March 3rd and selections will be made sometime in April, for more information on joining the team go to the Mercyhurst University Hub page and look for Laker Leaders.

Consider taking part in this Mercyhurst tradition all while making new friends.