Meet our summer 2017 orientation staff!
Jodi Payne is originally from North Branch, Mich. She is a communications study major with a dance minor and plans to graduate in May 2018.
Jodi first chose to attend NMU because of its adventurous nature and strong academics. She stayed because of the faculty and staff, who she says make the university special and intimate.
In her time at NMU, Jodi said she was fortunate to study abroad in Cape Town, South Africa, last fall.
“While I was there, I participated in a service project with a non-profit called Ikamva Youth,” Jodi said. “I spent my semester organizing presentations, collecting student data, tutoring and hanging out/mentoring low income students. It was such an amazing intercultural experience and gave me an incredible insight into the world of communication on the other side of the globe.”
Jodi said she is most excited about joining orientation staff because she loves NMU, and she wouldn’t be the person she is today without the staff, programs, resources and location of this university. As for incoming freshmen, her piece of advice is to just ‘do you, as silly as it sounds!’
“There are so many opportunities here, student organizations, and programs,” Jodi said. “These four years are so incredibly short, I implore you to spend them doing what you want, and what makes you happy! Aim for growth and success but when failure happens, know that there is a learning curve, and that the best growth comes from the willingness to try again. Northern will change your life, if you do all that you can to be happy, and embrace the mistakes, good or bad!”
