Accepted and Connected: How UNC-Chapel Hill and UC Merced Built Orientations Students Remember
Rethinking the Workplace for Law Firms in the Era of Digital Transformation
Orientation is your institution’s first opportunity to build confidence, create connections, and establish habits that shape the entire student journey. But when schedules, checklists, communications, and resources are scattered across emails, websites, and multiple apps, students spend more time searching than engaging.
Join UNC-Chapel Hill and UC Merced as they share how they transformed orientation into a foundation for a connected student journey–simplifying operations while helping students take action, stay informed, and engage well beyond the first week on campus.
Learn the key to a seamless and exciting orientation:
- Build the Foundation: Learn how to digitize, launch, and evolve orientation across the student journey—bringing schedules, maps, checklists, resources, and communications into one experience that reduces manual work for staff.
- Personalize Every Journey: Create unique experiences for students, families, graduate students, transfers, and other audiences with role-based content, personalized dashboards, and timely next steps.
- Drive Engagement Beyond Welcome Week: Build a trusted experience that students return to for all campus events, resources, communications, and personalized support, long after orientation ends.
- Empower Campus-Wide Collaboration: Give departments the tools and ownership to manage their own content while improving communication, streamlining operations, and delivering one consistent experience.
- Scale for Every Campus Event: Create reusable templates, workflows, and communications that can easily be adapted for move-in, graduate orientation, RA training, career fairs, and future campus events with minimal effort.
- Adapt and Improve in Real Time: Learn how live data, digital check-ins, and real-time insights helped schools quickly identify bottlenecks, optimize operations, and continuously improve the orientation experience as events unfolded.
The results speak for themselves. Discover how these institutions transformed orientation into a year-round engagement strategy:
- UNC-Chapel Hill: 3.1M+ Orientation screen views, nearly 30,000 visitors, and $40K+ in annual savings through a unified digital experience.
- UC Merced: 21,000+ Move-In interactions, 29,000+ schedule views, and thousands of students returning to one mobile hub for orientation and beyond.
About Your Hosts
Katie Adams Arca
User Experience Designer
UC Merced
Katie Adams Arca is a User Experience Designer at the University of California, Merced, where she leads the design, strategy, and ongoing evolution of UC Merced Connect, the university's digital engagement platform powered by Modo. Katie specializes in creating accessible, user-centered experiences that help students, faculty, staff, alumni, and campus partners connect with the information, services, and communities they need. With a background in UX design, digital engagement, and higher education technology, she is passionate about using storytelling, analytics, and human-centered design to drive meaningful digital experiences.
Elizabeth Poindexter
Executive Director of Communications and Special Projects
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Elizabeth Poindexter leads strategic communications efforts for 16 departments that comprise the Division of Student Success. She manages executive communication, internal communication, issues management, media relations, content creation, and strategy for the division and for its departments. Her strategic communications architecture supports the division’s strategic plan and Carolina’s goal of fostering student thriving success while showcasing its culture of compassion and care.
Danny Nguyen
Student Affairs IT Director
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Danny Nguyen is the Director of Student Affairs Information Technology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he leads the strategy, development, and delivery of technology solutions that support student success and campus engagement. With over 25 years of experience at UNC, Danny has led major initiatives spanning enterprise systems integration, mobile platforms, and digital transformation. He served as the technical lead for the award-winning Hello Heels mobile app redesign, helping create a personalized, mobile-first gateway for the Carolina community.
About Your Hosts
Phil Kirschner
Future of Work Expert, PK Consulting
Phil is a global thought leader with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of employee experience, corporate real estate, and technology strategy. He leverages data-driven insights to help organizations enhance productivity, talent retention, and engagement. Passionate about the future of work, Phil advocates for dynamic, sustainable, and inclusive workplaces that uplift human potential.
Adam Stoltz
Cofounder, Former AmLaw Workplace Experience Operations
Adam Stoltz is a corporate real estate and workplace experience leader with over 15 years of experience in strategy, operations, and employee services. He specializes in managing global portfolios, workplace strategy, and employee experiences, with expertise in occupancy management, vendor relations, wellness programs, and design and construction. Adam is passionate about creating efficient, engaging work environments that enhance productivity and employee satisfaction.
Marc Grainger
Chief People Officer, Debevoise & Plimpton
Marc Grainger is an experienced HR leader with over 15 years in talent development, leadership, and diversity. As Chief People Officer at Debevoise & Plimpton, he leads strategic initiatives to drive culture, performance, and employee engagement. Previously, Marc spent over a decade at Credit Suisse, where he held global leadership roles in People Development and Diversity & Inclusion. He is an expert in shaping high-performing, inclusive workplaces.
Laurie Rothenberg
Global Real Estate & Workplace Strategy Lead Counsel, Pfizer
Laurie Rothenberg is a leader in Global Workplace and Corporate Real Estate Strategy with 17 years at Pfizer, specializing in shaping resilient, employee-centric workplaces. She has a proven track record in optimizing portfolio strategies, fostering cross-functional collaboration, and integrating ESG principles into real estate decisions. Laurie is passionate about creating inspiring workplaces that enhance employee engagement, operational efficiency, and organizational success.
Related Resources
What to Expect From a Modern Digital Campus Platform
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From System Sprawl to a Digital Front Door: Simplifying the Campus Experience
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Designing a Digital Campus App That Reduces Friction Across Systems
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