Welcome to the Monarch community! Your New to Blue: New Student Experience includes multiple unique phases that will outline your required orientation activities, provide you with an online orientation course, and prepare you for your ODU journey.
Discover Your Pride: Monarch Orientation
This is a required, one-day orientation experience for new students. Parents, family members, and supporters are welcome to join.
Discover Your Pride: Monarch Orientation sessions for Spring 2027 students will be held on January 7 (on campus) & January 8 (online), 2027.
During Discover Your Pride, students will build connections with their community, assemble and interact with potential members of their Success Team, and prepare for pathways to enrollment and engagement.
Discover Your Pride: Monarch Orientation sessions for Summer and Fall 2026 students will be held in June and July, with the option to attend in-person or online!
Please note that students are required to stay for the entire duration of the program. More detailed information about times and locations can be found when signing up.
Starting Strong: Inside ODU’s New to Blue Experience
You’ve committed to ODU. Now it’s time for what’s next.
In this episode of Monarch Minutes, host Joshua Foe goes inside the New to Blue Student Experience, ODU’s step-by-step journey from enrollment to your first day of classes. Joined by Leah Mudd, Director of Orientation, they break down each phase, including Explore Your Kingdom, Discover Your Pride: Monarch Orientation, optional Discover+, and Rule Your Dominion, so you know exactly what to expect.
Along the way, you’ll get practical tips on advising and course registration, how to avoid common early missteps, and ways families can support the transition. More than a checklist, New to Blue is about building confidence, making connections, and starting strong, wherever you are in the journey.