If you’re involved with NSOP in any way, you’ve seen Personnel Coordinator Alicia Berenyi, C ’09, marshaling her force of 250 orientation leaders and crew chiefs to orient five times as many first-years. Bwog caught up with Alicia doing her laundry in McBain to chat about hating Lerner, despairing over Excel, and awkwardness.

aliciaBwog: So, how many hours of sleep have you had in the last week?

Alicia: (scrubbing bleach on jeans) Before last night, I had gotten about ten hours of sleep in five days.

You were a freshman when you applied for this job. What prompted you to jump so fully into NSOP without even being an OL?

I have no idea, really. The job description was really vague. I thought my job was going to be really easy, so I was like ‘ha, those suckers, everyone else is going to have the hardest time and I’m going to freaking going to be cruising and living in NY this summer.’ And then it turns out here I am, getting the least sleep. It’s been awesome.



What was your freshman NSOP experience like?

I didn’t go to any events.

You’ve spent the last four months on this huge project. Do you feel like you’ve personally changed as a result of it?

I think I like Columbia more. So that’s nice. I hate Lerner a lot more.



Who’s harder to direct, OLs or freshmen?



Mmmm….definitely freshmen, They’re so confused. I was so confused when I was a freshman. No, Ols are on top of their shit, really on top of their shit, which in past years I don’t think has been the case.

What’s the hardest thing for freshmen to get used to?

Columbia definitely likes you to be independent, and I would say NSOP really feeds that. Other schools, I know you spend like 10 hours a day with your Orientation leader, who like literally holds your hand around campus.

What’s been the biggest problem in making this whole thing work?

The security guards in Lerner don’t like letting me in after Lerner’s closed, no matter how many times I show up there at like 12 AM. Bigger problem? Excel. Most problems I’ve had this summer have been from my errors using Excel. God knows what happens with Excel. I’ve probably looked at like hundreds of spreadsheets this summer.



After the 5th, you’re sort of done. What are you going to do with your time?

Um, sleep. Sign up for classes I still need to register for, because I have no idea what I’m taking this semester right now.

I’ve heard you like dancing awkwardly.

Yes, I do. Me and my crew chiefs, we all like dancing awkwardly together, and if you need awkward dancing lessons, please call Dorian, and I can give you his cell phone number.

Any other advice for freshmen?

Attend the Blaze!