Emcees spice it up

Emcees host every awards show, musical performance, weddings and even church events. And now Eastfield needs one to spice up this summer's freshman orientation. "It's a great way to have people who have some type of acting skill, that want to get involved more in the school, help out with orientation, and help other people with the experience they already have," sophomore business law major Brandon Averhart said. A member of the student government, TRIO, the Fashion Club and chair of the bookstore and food services committee, Averhart is a prime example of what Eastfield looks for in a potential emcee according to speech professor Courtney Carter. "I think it's great that we always look to involve are students," Dean of Admissions, Advising & Testing, Linda Richardson, said. "We look for students who are involved with Eastfield College, and who know Eastfield College." A first for Eastfield, the idea came about after watching orientations at other institutions such as University of Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas A&M-Commerce. "This is a new venture, but we are excited because we are incorporating students from our campus to be the voice of Eastfield, and it is a different approach, but we felt like we need for the incoming student to make interactions with current students," Dean of Outreach and Student Development Rick Garcia said. "They are the first face that the new students will encounter, and the emcee will facilitate the opening session, from greeting them to instructing them on how the rest of the session will unfold throughout orientation." Garcia hopes the addition of the emcee will not only be a face to which new students can relate, but also get them excited about attending and getting involved at Eastfield. If everything goes as expected this summer, than emcees could become a mainstay in the orientation process and could possibly be featured in other events around the Eastfield campus. "I have a feeling it's going to go very well," Garcia said. "If it goes well, we will probably be exploring the emcee format in other projects on the campus".

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