Imani Mayo Gaskins
Augusta University Online
Challenge: Online enrollment is increasingly automated. Students get texts, emails, and the portal, but they often reach orientation having never had a real conversation with a real person about what comes next.
Quote: “We’re not just throwing them out into the sea and telling them to swim. We have the lifeboat through the whole entire journey.”
The human moment
Imani Mayo Gaskins is the first human voice a new Augusta University Online student hears, and she doesn’t let go until they’re settled.
From the initial enrollment call through orientation and into Yellowdig, Imani stays in the conversation. She drops her own introduction into the orientation community, posts memes, responds to students, and watches something happen that automated onboarding never achieves: students start talking to each other.
That’s where Yellowdig became part of the design: a space where elementary school teachers from the same district find each other, where students post pictures of their desks and degrees, and where a real community forms before a single grade is ever given
The proof
- Students who connected during orientation brought those relationships into their coursework
- Yellowdig topics consistently drove increased interaction week over week throughout orientation
- A student hub gives graduates ongoing access to peer resources and community beyond their first term
- The first human connection sets the tone for everything that follows
- Automated onboarding tells students what to do, but a human connection shows them they belong
- Peer interaction in Yellowdig happens naturally when the environment feels safe and low-stakes
- Faculty: Engage early in orientation communities — your presence before classes begin matters
- Student Success: Build a student hub that persists beyond orientation so the community doesn’t end when classes start
- Online Programs: Treat enrollment advisors as community builders, not just intake coordinators
