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Entry into a nursing program is fraught with both excitement and anxiety: excitement about beginning the final leg of a journey to professional nursing and anxiety about the unknown world of nursing education. Undergraduate prelicensure students enter the nursing program as part of a cohort and take their classes in a lock-step process through graduation. A mandatory orientation, called Adaptahon, is used to deepen the excitement, lessen the anxiety and assist students in their assimilation into the rigorous nursing program. The orientation actually begins with a letter that new students receive once they have been offered and accepted a place in the nursing program. The letter introduces them to the program, discusses the Adaptathon activities, and delineates what students need to do prior to coming to the first Adaptathon day. Adaptathon begins with 2-full days of activities the week prior to the start of classes and continues on a regular basis during the first eight weeks of the nursing program. During the first two days of Adaptathon, students have an opportunity to meet each other, meet the nursing faculty, and begin to explore the nursing program’s policies, procedures and curriculum. Also included are a library orientation, orientation to Blackboard, introduction to nursing student organization activities and an opportunity to purchase books, uniforms and supplies. During the ensuing eight weeks, bi-weekly seminars are planned that provide students with insights into not only surviving, but thriving in the nursing program. This presentation will provide an overview of the development, implementation and evaluation of this unique orientation program.