Student leaders welcome first-years during orientation

As orientation leaders this summer, UVA Batten students Kayla Kline-Polio and Owen Andrews (both BA ’27) are showing incoming first-year and transfer students that sometimes, “leading from anywhere” begins in your own back yard. 

Both hail from Northern Virginia, but they were drawn to UVA, Batten, and the orientation leadership program for very different reasons. Still, they share the common goal of making incoming Hoos feel welcomed into the University community and preparing them for their first days on Grounds through the summer program run by UVA’s Office of Orientation and Transition Programming. 

Kline-Polio said her journey to UVA and her role as an orientation leader has been unconventional. She doubted if college was meant for her at all, and considered joining the Air Force Academy. Although she decided to attend UVA, she didn’t find herself excited by the decision, and had a lackluster orientation experience. 

“Orientation was the first time I saw Grounds, and while impressive, I couldn’t have cared less. I barely spoke or paid attention,” Kline-Polio said. “This year, I became an orientation leader because I wanted to save the ‘incoming Kaylas’ from a depressing first year. Everyone can belong here, you just have to put in the effort.”

Andrews, on the other hand, had a sister at UVA and he decided to apply here. But like Kline-Polio, he said, it takes time and effort to find one’s place on Grounds. He hopes to make the transition to UVA a bit less daunting for incoming students. 

“I’ve been excited to work as an orientation leader this summer because I think it’s a perfect opportunity to give back to a UVA community that has supported me so lovingly,” Andrews said. “It took some time to find my people and places on Grounds, and I hope that giving new students welcoming introductions will help them early on in that process.”

Kline-Polio credits Batten’s emphasis on community involvement for her decision to be an orientation leader. To her, leadership is showing up with effort and love. “In my application for the orientation leadership role, I wrote about wanting to guide others so they wouldn’t feel as lost as I did, but I only had the compassion to write that because I spent the last two years developing my care for others,” she said.

Andrews said Batten has given him the ability to approach situations with empathy and emotional understanding, which has been integral to his role as an orientation leader. “Batten has allowed me to practice interpersonal skills that were quite helpful during my time as an orientation leader. Intellectual humility was one of these key skills — being able to approach the job with curiosity and a willingness to admit when I couldn’t answer questions was crucial for developing a rapport with my orientees.”

Choosing the Batten School

Kline-Polio, who is a double major in global development, said she’s been interested in politics from an early age, particularly on a global scale. “My international interests come from my cultural background, being half-Salvadoran and half-White,” she said.

“Not until I started learning Spanish in high school and finally going to El Salvador did I realize my Latinidad meant everything to me,” she said. “Now, all I want to do is help the people of El Salvador and become their ambassador from the United States, and I think policy can get me there.”

Kline-Polio started at UVA in political science, but realized it wasn’t the right fit. A friend recommended she participate in the Bridge to Batten program and she found herself invigorated by the school’s curriculum and the hands-on nature of policymaking. 

“I want to be the one making changes,” she said. “I fell in love with policy. I love that it’s all a puzzle I can solve in a million different ways. I love the professors I’ve met so far, they’ve all been so inspiring. And yes, I kind of love writing memos. Is that crazy to say?”

Andrews also began developing an interest in policy while in high school, particularly American politics and bipartisanship. He applied to UVA with attending Batten in mind, and he hopes to go onto law school. 

“After [law school], some areas that I’d love to work in include mental health, environmental conservation, or foreign affairs. While I still have a long road ahead of me, I look forward to every minute of it!”

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