Become a Journey Leader

Journey leader banner

Journey leaders are students in New Student & Family Programs (NSFP) that help welcome our newest class of CU Buffs to campus. Journey leaders help facilitate all NSFP events, ensuring events run smoothly and assisting new students and their families in their adjustment to CU. As a journey leader, you will gain valuable leadership experience while meeting new people and getting involved on campus. 

Responsibilities   

  • Help new students and families feel welcome at CU by sharing stories, answering questions and directing them to resources.
  • Manage and lead a group of up to 30 incoming students during NSFP events
  • Facilitate small group discussions and provide pertinent information to incoming students about all things CU, including policies, procedures, involvement opportunities, campus resources and more.
  • Set up for events including decorating event spaces, putting up directional signs, lifting items, arranging furniture and more. 
  • Use problem-solving skills to work through challenges and correctly answer questions from students and families.
  • Represent CU Boulder in a positive way at all times and uphold campus policies and expectations.
  • Participate in training events.
  • Facilitate New Student Orientation events (overnight summer orientation). 

Reasons to apply   

  • Build leadership skills while gaining interpersonal and intrapersonal competence.
  • Learn and practice group facilitation and teamwork strategies.
  • Refine customer service and conflict resolution skills.
  • Gain experience running events.
  • Contribute to the success of new CU Boulder students and families.
  • Interact with a diverse group of individuals and make new friends.
  • Enjoy complementary apparel and swag.
  • Earn $16 an hour during August training, Fall Welcome and Family Weekend. 

Requirements   

  • Must be a current CU Boulder student in good academic and judicial standing.
  • Demonstrate the ability to be reliable, responsible, confident, flexible and willing to help new students and their families find resources and support at CU Boulder.
  • Exhibit the ability to work and communicate effectively with a diverse group of team members, students, parents, faculty and staff.
  • Continually learn more about CU Boulder and convey institutional pride.
  • Participate in and earn credit for an 8-week leadership course in the spring semester prior to serving as a journey leader.
  • The class meets once a week for two hours per meeting.
  • For spring 2025, dates will be Tuesdays at 3:30-5:20 p.m. or Wednesdays at 3:45-5:35 p.m. 
  • Take part in Journey Leader Field Day training on April 12, 2025, and June Journey Leader Training on June 4-6, 2025.
  • Plan to work New Student Orientation dates during June 2025. You should expect to reserve the full month, as we may still have slight changes to the schedule.
    • June 9-10, June 11-12, June 16-17, June 17-18, June 22-23, June 23-24, June 25-26, June 29-30, June 30-July 1, and July 2-3 
  • Participate in Fall Journey Leader training on Aug. 15, 2025.
  • Work during Fall Welcome 2025 (Aug. 16-24).
  • Journey leaders have the option to work Family Weekend 2025 (October – dates TBD) and to support Journey Leader Recruitment (November 2025).
  • Journey Leaders are prohibited from taking summer classes in the following Summer Sessions: Maymester, Session A, Session C, Session D and Augmester. Journey Leaders may take Summer Session B classes.

NSFP reserves the right to change the event schedule or schedule journey leaders for only some events. Journey leaders cannot log hours on their timesheets due to reserving them; journey leaders will be paid for actual hours worked. 

I love being a Journey Leader because...

  • "I love being a journey leader because, aside from making my dearest friends, I found a supportive and joyful community of people who wanted to see me succeed and lifted me up!" – Casey B.
  • "Getting to help new students feel welcome is so rewarding! Additionally, the people you meet in this program are so incredible and come from a variety of backgrounds, identities and academic disciplines, which makes it a really fun environment to be a part of." – Sally M.
  • "I love being a journey leader because you can help incoming students and yourself at the same time! It's a good feeling all around. You get to be someone who can make a difference (whether you know it or not) to a new student or family member as they enter a new stage of life, and you also meet people and build a community of fellow journey leaders!" – Amy K.
  • "Journey leaders gave me somewhere I felt I belonged. I met people who were just like me and even made some of my best friends through this program."  – Callie G.
  • "We're family, and I really can't say anything better to capture the community and support I have found with some of the most energetic, kind and dedicated people I have the honor of working alongside. I walked into it hoping to foster a community for incoming students and families, and I was lucky enough that I got to do that while finding a community for myself. I can confidently say it's the single most worthwhile opportunity I've ever decided to take, and I am so thankful these are the people I get to call my peers." – Kaitlyn P.
  • "Being a journey leader is more than guiding others through the university; it's about kindling the flame of exploration within their hearts, illuminating the path to self-discovery and witnessing the transformation that happens when we step outside our comfort zones together." – Manasa K.