At the start of the academic year, the entire freshman class volunteers at locations across Atlanta for the annual Orientation Day of Service. This year, more than 300 students, plus transfer students, members of Alpha Phi Omega and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., and Achieve Atlanta Scholars, each volunteered at one of 17 local nonprofit organizations. The contributed work is valued at over $25,000 for the day. "We used our time and talents to impact communities in ways that cannot be quantified," said Jessica Winestock, associate director of A_LAB, Civic Engagement at Oglethorpe. "We befriended young children as we handed out food, we laughed with seniors over a game of bingo, and we learned lessons in mechanics as we helped to build wheelchairs." Experiences such as the Orientation Day of Service are not just "feel good" events. Service Learning curricula melds the classroom experience with the rigors of service, instilling sought-after qualities such as teamwork, leadership, empathy, and enthusiasm, as well as concrete foundations for creative and intellectual advancement. Nonprofits visited included: Trees Atlanta, International Rescue Committee, The Drake House, The Wylde Center/Oakhurst Garden, The Wylde Center/Hawk Hollow Garden, Frazer Center, Making A Way Housing, Inc., Hosea Feed the Hungry, AG Rhodes Health and Rehabilitation Center, Friends of Disabled Adults and Children, Books for Africa, Atlanta Community Food Bank, MedShare International, The Latin American Association, Charles R. Drew Charter School, UHOPE CDC, and the Latin American Association.

Eleven students from Campbell High School in Smyrna, Ga. visited campus in March to learn more about life on a college campus. All are members of Campbell's Hermanos Espartanos, a group dedicated to increasing the number of Latinx students who pursue post-secondary education.

Some students exemplify Oglethorpe's creed to "make a difference" before they set foot on campus.