In recognition of his dedication to Baker’s orientation program, Director of Student Life Randy Flowers has received an award from the National Orientation Directors Association (NODA) for orientation programming.

Flowers was presented the professional award for Outstanding New Orientation, Transition and Retention during the NODA Regional Conference Feb. 26-28 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

This is Flowers’ fifth year at Baker, and throughout that time he has worked on the evolution of Baker’s orientation program. That evolution is ongoing.

“Everything changes every year, and this year there are huge changes,” Flowers said.

This summer he is changing the program by providing five summer orientation days for new students compared to last year’s seven days. That means that there will be approximately 60 students attending each session, and Flowers estimates around 150 people total when counting family members who also attend. This means that Flowers has rebuilt many aspects of the program to help fit the larger numbers of people in fewer days.

“I’ve always known Randy to be a passionate and dedicated person,” junior Ryenn Johns said. “He’s always growing and evolving his programs into something greater.”

Flowers is also in the process of reshaping the transfer orientation and creating an orientation day specifically for international students. In doing so, he hopes to continue to improve on hitting all three aspects of NODA: orientation, transition and retention.

Looking forward, Flowers is thinking about how to improve Wildcat Welcome Week as well as other programs to help retain students once they have finished their first year at Baker.

“Randy is more than deserving of this award, because he devotes so much of his time to the students to make sure that they have the best experience they can,” sophomore Amy Wysong said.

Flowers said it is humbling to see his effort pay off, and he is thankful that Baker invests in the professional development of its faculty and staff. This is Flowers’ second professional award.