Staff
Orientation Core Team
The Orientation Core Team is a group of students who work closely with the Director of Orientation and First Year Experience to plan all aspects of New Student Orientation for undergraduate first year, transfer and exchange students. The August Team starts working during the spring semester and spends the summer at Brandeis preparing to welcome our newest community members. Our January team works throughout the fall semester and over winter break. All Core Team members have previous experience as Orientation Leaders (OL's). Core Team also plans the training OL's receive to prepare them for their role.
Meet the Midyear 2025 Core Team
Hello Everyone!
My name is Ria Escamilla-Gil and I am currently a sophomore at Brandeis pursuing a BA in History and International Global Studies with minors in Legal Studies and East Asian Studies. I was born and raised in Queens, New York, which welcomed me into a diverse and vibrant community that I have much love for. This also led to my passion in community-building and serving others through community service and advocacy.
On campus, I serve in the undergraduate student government, plan events as an event coordinator for the Femme of Color Alliance Organization, and currently am a Coordinator-in-Training for the Language Empowering Action Project. I also serve on the VoteDeis Coalition and currently form part of the MLK Day planning committee as an MLK Fellow.
I love the passion-driven community here at Brandeis, and I look forward to continuing to make a positive impact on campus. I am super excited to help plan the midyear orientation this winter and welcome you all to Brandeis and all the wonderful things it has to offer!
Hello everyone!
My name is Zach Mayer, and I am a senior from Los Angeles triple majoring in History, Politics, and American Studies with a triple minor in Classics, Religious Studies, and the History of Ideas. Outside of Orientation, I serve as a First Year Ambassador, as well as an Executive Board member in the admissions office. I'm sure I've already met some of you when you were touring campus! For activities, I'm the former president of Brandeis Mock Trial, I volunteer with an organization called SPECTRUM through our Waltham Group, and I'm frequently running all over campus trying new things.
Brandeis has been the best time of my life, largely because of the community around me. The academics are amazing, but the people are what make truly make Brandeis as great as it is. My goal is to help you begin your Brandeis journey as well as possible, and I can't wait to get started!"
Hey! My name is Reese Miller and I'm a senior from Chattanooga, TN. I am double majoring in Sociology and American Studies with minors in Legal Studies and Film. On campus, I work at Admissions, I'm on the Mock Trial team, and I'm involved with performing arts on campus. Outside of Brandeis, I love Twitter, playing guitar, and watching movies (really into Chaplin recently). Orientation is an amazing opportunity to connect with other people and situate yourself in the Brandeis community. I hope we are able to create a comfortable and engaging environment that allows you all to take advantage of all that Brandeis has to offer.
Hi! I’m Wesley, an international student from Taiwan (ROC) and a junior majoring in Business and Economics. Outside of academics and career, I absolutely love being part of the Orientation Leader team—it’s the highlight of every semester as I help new students find their home at Brandeis.
When I’m not welcoming first-years, you’ll find me enjoying Waltham’s diverse food with friends or competing in my favorite sport: Quadball. This gender-inclusive, full-contact game is inspired by quidditch from Harry Potter. Fun fact: Brandeis Quadball is elite: we crushed last season with an undefeated record!
Meet the Staff
Laura joined the Brandeis community in May 2022 as the Director of Orientation and First Year Experience. Before Brandeis, Laura worked at Massachusetts College of Art and Design (MassArt), Merrimack College and the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown (UPJ). She did her undergraduate work at Bridgewater State College, her graduate work at Indiana University of Pennsylvania and has been working with orientation programs for 20 years. Laura is excited to welcome our newest Brandeisians to the community!