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Summer is now here and that means one thing on Texas Tech’s campus, new
student orientation, better known as Red Raider Orientation (RRO). To
the untrained eye, it appears as if there are 50 eager college students
running around, leading students all over campus, and helping with any
questions that prospective students or family members may have. But to
everyone else on campus, there is one person behind the eagerness,
friendliness, and Texas Tech spirit that constitutes an RRO counselor.
Zach Manning is the mastermind who coordinates Texas Tech’s RRO for all
of the incoming students every summer. He devotes over 60 hours a week
to the well-being of the counselors and to assuring the best possible
experience for new students on Tech’s campus. For many of the new
students, RRO is the first time that they get to see Texas Tech’s campus
and talk to their advisors. We all remember how intimidating that leap
from high school to college was, and because of the efforts of Zach
Manning and the RRO crew, that intimidation is greatly reduced for
students at Tech. How many people have had a job so amazing and utterly fulfilling that
they would stay at that job for their entire life? The answer is very
few. A recent Career Vision survey states that only 20 percent of
Americans feel very passionate about their jobs. Worse than that, 55
percent of Americans are dissatisfied with their current jobs. As a
previous Red Raider Orientation crew member, I can attest to the fact
that Zach Manning was one of the most fun and exciting bosses that I’ve
ever had. He cares about his crew members and does everything he
possibly can to ensure that the RRO crew knows every fact about Texas
Tech, the colleges and majors, and history. Crew members use the words
“awesome” and “exciting” whenever describing Zach and his management
skills. More than one of the previous crew members have stated that
Zach is the “best boss ever.” Students who have gone through RRO stated that it was one of the most
fun experiences they’d ever had and relieved stress over going to
college. Parents and families were more relaxed about letting their
kids leave home and enter college. All of this is due to the long hours
and care that Zach puts into his job. Over the month of June, Zach has
been training the new RRO crew, spending hours and hours making sure
that they get all of the information that they’ll need for the summers.
Zach is ensuring that all 7,000 students who go through RRO have the
best possible experience. He will personally work with the crew for all
10 of the Orientation sessions from June 17th through August 7th. The
3-day sessions will see over 600 students per session. Zach oversees
the entire process, coordinates advising with all of the academic
departments, and plans the schedule that students go through.
Since Zach graduated from Angelo State University, he has spent the last
few years working for Texas Tech University in the Center for Campus
Life. Even though he has been an outstanding employee at Texas Tech for
years, he has especially shown his prowess and management skill over the
month of June. If you ask anyone at Texas Tech, they’ll tell you that
Zach puts in long hours to ensure every student going through RRO has
the best possible experience. As RRO sessions are underway, keep a look
out on the Tech campus for Zach, the man who has helped over 2,000
students acclimate to college in June alone.
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