Gatton Residential Orientation (GRO) Week is by far the most important week for Gatton Academy students, especially for the incoming juniors. You meet your new classmates and even best friends for the next two years while also getting adjusted to life at Gatton and living away from home.

GROWeek consists of a mixture of activities: from informative seminars about research with Dr. Derick Strode and how to navigate Naviance with Tracy Harkins to scavenger hunts and many, many movie nights. We also had meetings with our Gatton mental health counselors, Dr, Pokey Bowen and Chelsee Dalcourt, small groups, and took campus tours with the Community Developers and Avatars. Everyone’s schedules were jam-packed to say the least.

With all the meetings and mingling, Gatton during GROWeek can be pretty crazy. You see juniors stressing about classes (already!), people feeling homesick, and others jumping with joy for the new-found freedom. But thankfully, the Gatton community is always so supportive of everyone, providing help and much-needed advice to those who need it.

In talking to the junior class about their thoughts on GROWeek, they all had a lot to say. Their favorite parts included bonding with the people on their floors and being able to get to the other juniors and seniors. An overwhelming number also talked about the abundance of free Chick-Fil-A, but who wouldn’t enjoy that? They also enjoyed being able to get a feel of Gatton before they dive into classes, allowing their nerves to be eased.

Clearly, the juniors and seniors have a very different year ahead of them, with GROWeek being just the beginning. We all know that things are going to be very different at Gatton this year, but something that doesn’t change about this program is the supportive staff and students who will be there for you every step of the way. With that being said, class of 2021 and 2022, good luck!

Sanjana Nasta