Junior Jackie Askins remembers the important role of New Student Orientation activities in helping her acclimate to life at the University of Pennsylvania.

Her introduction to Penn included tours of campus and the surrounding neighborhood, visits to the city’s historical sites and tasting Philadelphia favorites such as cheesesteaks and pretzels.

Now, the Vineland, N.J., native is one of NSO’s student coordinators, assisting incoming freshman and their parents to transition smoothly to the University.   

“Since I had such a great experience adjusting to Penn when I got here, I wanted to give someone the same experience that I had,” says Askins, a cognitive science and computer science major in the College of Arts & Sciences. “A lot of people are lost when they come to campus, so we’re here to help guide them with anything they need.”

The NSO team has already interacted with members of the Class of 2020 through email and the class Facebook account.

As one of NSO’s six student coordinators, Askins is helping answer questions from students and parents like “When do I move in?” and “When do forms need to be submitted?”

“It’s rewarding knowing that we get to help parents because I know my parents were the same way when I was coming in as a freshman,” Askins says.

In her sophomore year, Askins volunteered for the NSO group Peers Helping Incoming New Students, or PHINS. 

“I loved being one of the first people freshmen saw and being able to help them with anything that they needed,” Askins says.

When she learned about the NSO student coordinator opportunity this past spring, she applied and was selected for the summer job.

Guided by NSO staff managers, student coordinators plan the Aug. 25-29 NSO activities. They work with caterers, as well as Penn administrators and staff and outside organizations to put together events, including arranging the toga party at the Penn Museum and the evening visit to the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

In addition, Askins has an opportunity to use some of her computer science skills in the NSO office. She’s working with a website design company to create NSO’s new website, which launched in July. Askins says the website is easier to navigate and now includes a section specifically for parents, with links to important information such as the Penn Parents Guide, the Penn Parents Newsletter and Student Registration and Financial Services.

Through Askins’ job experience at NSO, she says she’s now confident that she wants to work in the tech world once she graduates.

“After working on the website and seeing what goes into creating a website, I could definitely see myself involved with computer programming.”