An ongoing concern at institutions of higher education is persistence among underrepresented minority students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. This qualitative exploratory case study was designed to investigate whether combining two strategies, orientations and gamification, to provide more supports for minority students would result in greater persistence and whether the benefits of a traditional orientation were shown, or even amplified, with the implementation of a game-based orientation program. The research encompassed student attitudes and retention rates, with particular focus on the support of building communities of practice, as well as student motivation to complete game challenges. The participants consisted of 26 sophomores, who were selected for the inaugural year of a STEM Success Academy at an urban university. To "gamify" the orientation, a mobile application was developed using a platform called Social Scavenger. Elements of gamification (i.e., virtual scavenger hunts, trivia games, points, leaderboards, teams, and photo and video challenges) were incorporated into the app for use during the orientation program. The primary data collection methods were in-depth interviews with students and program coordinators and a focus group session with a group of six participants from the STEM program. Supportive methods included documentation and archival records. The data was coded and classified according to the research questions. Analysis and interpretation of findings were organized into analytic categories to detail conclusions based on the discoveries of the study. Findings indicated that students and coordinators felt that the gamified orientation treatment resulted in a smoother integration into the college program. The formation of communities of practice seemed to be the most valuable support that was developed through the game challenges. High levels of intrinsic motivation to complete the challenges were reported, with all participants expressing that this style of orientation program should be continued. There was a significantly high retention rate of 96% among the STEM students, and the gamified orientation seems to be a contributing factor based on the qualitative results. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]