Three students named new directors of Rookie Bridge Camp

Office of Communications & Marketing |Northeastern State University
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. -- In preparation for the 2013 Rookie Bridge Camp (RBC) program, the Northeastern State University Office of Student Activities has named Kyle Boone, Randy Cox and Alyssa Rupe as the student directors of RBC.

The core purpose of the RBC orientations is to provide freshmen with essential knowledge about campus and academic life while allowing them to become acquainted with each other, the upperclassmen volunteers and directors, and attending staff and faculty.

"I've been an RBC staff member and driven golf carts around and gotten water, and last year I was a volunteer," said Boone, a junior from Tulsa majoring in health care administration. "I thought it would be a lot of fun to be able to plan activities and make decisions, so I decided to apply to be a director."

Though many NSU employees volunteer for the camps, the cornerstone of RBC is the students who organize it and donate their time. Each year through a competitive application and interview process, 50-70 volunteers areselectedto help make camp a success. Many volunteers participated in RBC as incoming freshmen.

"Transitioning to college from high school is a really big step," said Cox, a cellular biology major and Fort Gibson sophomore. "You might have known everyone at a small high school or built a base of friends over four years at a large high school. Then a student comes to NSU and is meeting new people in a more open environment. At RBC, incoming students can meet new people people in their class which can help build confidence going in to the new school year."

Rupe, a Skiatook sophomore majoring in special education, said the new RBC directors have experience with the camps that can benefit other staff and volunteers.

"As directors, we basically are the backbone of the organization," she said. "We have interacted one-on-one with the 'rookies' that come through, and we can offer our volunteers experience and knowledge and organizational help they need to host a successful Rookie Bridge Camp."

RBC directors are also standout students. Rupe is treasurer for Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority, a peer instructor for University Strategies,and a member of the Student Council for Exceptional Children and the Student Oklahoma Education Association. She works on the NSU campus in the Department of Educational Foundation and Leadership. She plans to attend graduate school and establish an exceptional youth center for mentally disabled children.

Boone is in his third year with the RBC program. He is involved with the Inter-Fraternity Council, Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, the Healthcare Administration Club and is a peer-instructor for University Strategies. He wants to attend graduate school at Oklahoma State University and run a long-term care facility or work as a hospital administrator.

Cox is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, the NSU Pre-Optometry Club, President's Leadership Class and the Northeastern Student Government Association Election Commission. He wishes to attend the NSU Oklahoma College of Optometry after graduation.

Each year NSU hosts a pair of two-day RBC orientations which include activities to build friendships, exercises in time management, information about NSU and a float trip down the Illinois River. The camps were established in 1989.

For more information about Rookie Bridge Camp visit nsuok.edu/rbc or call the Office of Student Activities at 918-444-2526.