By Melissa Messer
Everybody remembers their freshman orientation. Well, some of it anyway. By and large, orientation is a blur of t-shirt-getting, backpack-wearing, folder-carrying, and wide eyes. Walking around the expansive UI campus, especially if you have never visited Iowa City, it is incredibly easy to become overwhelmed and somewhat panicked.
If you ever wished during orientation that you could grab the sleeve of a passing student and ask them questions, or perhaps kidnap them and make them your personal tour guide, The Real Freshman Orientation is the show for you. Every Tuesday at 7pm, KRUI Marketing Director Vanessa Ruiz is joined by her marketing staff minions to tell you “everything you really need to know about life in Iowa City.”
Even seasoned Hawkeyes can lean something from The Real Freshman Orientation, however. The show centers on personal accounts and experiences, both of the marketing staff and comments from listeners on the show’s Facebook page, where weekly questions and polls are posted. Previous show topics have included music venues, study spots, Iowa City’s “hidden gems,” best and worst classes, and a show devoted entirely to students who have transferred in to the university. Every week is a little bit different, but all of the shows are packed full of anecdotes, cautionary tales, and hard-won advice. It all comes down to one goal: helping people discover their new favorite places in the city they love. Who better to do that than the marketing staff of the best radio station in town?
Make sure to check out The Real Freshman Orientation page on Facebook, and tune in every Tuesday night at seven on KRUI 89.7 FM.
