Hokie Helpers
Welcome!
The need for Hokie Helpers is greater than ever. With more than 10,000 students expected on campus this fall, we’re putting out a call for Hokie Helpers near and far!
Our students and their families will begin arriving on campus August 15 , and they will need smiling faces ready to greet and assist them once they show up. You’ll get to experience the joy of welcoming a student to campus, and you’ll make the move-in experience one that our Hokies will never forget.
What is a Hokie Helper?
This year we have four kinds of Hokie Helpers!
- You will be working under one of five tents placed near the major parking lots where families are assigned to park. Families have 60 minutes to check in, unload, and move to their assigned remote parking to make room for the next hour’s families.
- Your role is to direct families to the check-in location for their residence hall.
- Cart check-out will happen at the building when they check-in, so advise families to just walk to their building to check-in and then come back with a cart to unload.
- You will advise families who are done unloading to move to their assigned remote parking lot. They can come and go from their remote parking lot for the rest of the day. Don’t worry- our colleagues from Parking Services will manage traffic and the lots; you are just answering questions and sharing directions.
- You will answer other common questions, using a set of Q&A and other resources.
- You will be under a tent during your shift, but sunscreen may also be advisable.
- You will be working at a check-in station that serves 1-2 residence halls. These stations are either in the lobby of a residence hall or under a tent near the residence hall.
- An RWB Student Leader will be with you at the station checking students into their rooms electronically via an app.
- Your role may include greeting students and families, informing the student of session locations, handing out lanyards & maps, or handing out moving carts.
- You may be acting as a Q&A station attendant answering common questions by using a set of Q&A and other resources.
- You will be moving around on the floors of 1-3 residence halls greeting and assisting families and students.
- You will offer to return carts and hand trucks that families are finished using back to the check-in stations so other families can use them.
- You will be provided a Q&A document with information about the most common questions we get on opening days, like what dining is open or where does the student have to be next.
- You can share videos about how to loft or de-loft beds and hand out equipment (rubber mallets). Building ambassadors are not expected to help with furniture movement or move any student’s belongings.
- You will collect our move-in carts and reposition them in different residence halls around campus.
- Please ensure that carts are in good working condition (wheels, etc.).
- Safely maneuver carts to the designated buildings using the most efficient route. The Summer Conference Staff will have a list of where carts need to be transported from and to.
- Place carts in an organized manner at their staging area.
- You will be reporting to a Summer Conference Staff team leader for all tasks and duties for your shift - so check in with them for additional instruction.
Each Helper will have a different set of responsibilities, but all will be friendly, smiling faces ready to help our new students get settled in to our residence halls. Hokie Helpers do not handle student belongings, rather we help them find their residence hall, get checked in, and find their rooms. We ensure that carts are available at check-in tables, and are returned and ready for the next person to use when students are finished with them. Hokie Helpers are some of the first people new students (and their families) will meet when they arrive on campus, so we need to be friendly, polite, and helpful at all times!
Here is our video for a quick explanation of how to be a friendly Hokie Helper! When you arrive for your scheduled shift, you will be given specific guidance for your role.