By ELLIOTT DONNER

Staff Writer

The Tech orientation leaders traveled to Clemson, South Carolina last weekend to compete in the Southeastern Regional Orientation Workshop (SROW). The orientation leaders are led by Vince Miller, the director of orientation and special programs.

Miller said the orientation leader team is composed of a group of student peers who are enthusiastic leaders. These students have practiced twice a week for three months to prepare a skit for this workshop, Miller said.

This year's skit the orientation leaders did was based on "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." Anne Marie Hess, a sophomore early elementary education major, said, "I'm excited to go and represent Tech this weekend and with all the time we have put into our skit, I know we will do well."

Hess said the team left on a bus Thursday night around 10 p.m. from Tech and picked up University of Louisiana-Monroe's orientation team. From there she said they traveled through the night to South Carolina. The team returned to Ruston Sunday night about 11 p.m.

Miller said, "The bus was a little smaller and older than expected." He said the bus was a little bit outdated and was not really what everyone was hoping to travel on.

"The ride down there was easy, because it was night and everyone was able to sleep," Miller said. "The way home on Sunday was a little harder though because it was during the day, all day."

The team did not place in the skit competition over the weekend, Miller said, but the group did everything required for an excellent skit and more. "I honestly believe we should have placed," Miller said.

Jennifer Welch, a sophomore early elementary education major, said "I am a little displeased with not placing in the skit competition, but I feel like we did an awesome job and I had a great time."

She said from the time they got on the bus through the whole weekend the team had a great time.

Welch said one of the most fun parts of the weekend was a sticker war they had Friday night. She said all the schools there put stickers all over the members from other schools there and it was really fun.

Welch said that it was great to see all the universities that were at the SROW represented so well and over the weekend the team grew a lot closer and learned a lot.

"A 12-hour bus ride can bring any group a little closer together," Welch said.

Miller and Welch both said the weekend was a little displeasing because of not placing in the competition, but the ultimate goal of the weekend was to make a better team for summer orientation.

"Now it's time to put the skits and training to work," Welch said. She said she is very excited to start summer orientation and the incoming students have a lot to look forward to.

Hess said the whole team feels really good about the whole weekend and they know they did better than many other schools.

Miller said, "There is so much inconsistency every year during the skit competition, because of different random judges every year."

He said the judges do not have specific guidelines to judge by.

Miller said, "The most important thing is the leaders learned what to bring to the skit when the summer orientation comes around."