Move-In Day 2024 at Elon University on Aug. 23 featured support from 170 staff and faculty volunteers, over 100 Orientation Student Leaders, over 100 Residence Life Student Leaders, all fall student-athletes and their coaches and an additional 174 student volunteers.
A recent graduate with a degree in international business and marketing at Elon, Hannah Southern ’22 was eager to see what she called the “flip side” of Move-In Day. Southern and her mother, Mary Southern, both work at Elon and jumped at the chance to lend a hand to help new students get settled.
“I remember when the sign-up sheet came out to volunteer for move-in, I called my mom and told her we need to sign up right now,” shared Southern, who is an assistant registrar at Elon.
It was a good thing that they moved quickly because the sign-up sheets fill up quickly each year. So many faculty and staff members at Elon share their enthusiasm for this annual tradition, with many Elon alumni who now work at the university participating as a way to share their knowledge as former students with a new class of students who are just beginning their time at Elon. Those with their own Move-In Day stories are among the 170 Elon employees who help out on Move-In Day.
Kenneth Brown, Jr. ’19, assistant director for First Generation Student Support Services, distinctly remembers his first Move-In Day. He shared that being an Odyssey Program scholar helped orient him to campus and familiarize him with parts of Elon.
“I’m an oldest child and I’m one of eight siblings and the excitement was like ‘this is something I’ve been building up to and working towards and now it’s finally happening,’” shared Brown.
The Odyssey Program, which is part of the Center for Access and Success, is a highly selective, merit-based program consisting of talented individuals who are academically strong, civically engaged, action-oriented leaders in their communities, who will benefit from an Elon education and demonstrate high financial need.
As a student, Brown took full advantage of his time at Elon. He worked for Center for Race, Ethnicity and Diversity Education (CREDE) for two years as a student coordinator, lived in a Living-Learning Community, was part of the Elon News Network where he focused on athletics, and perhaps most notably, served as the class president for the university for three of his four years and as student body president his senior year through the Student Government Association.
Southern was a first-year student when Brown served as SGA president and she remembers his energy and enthusiasm, especially at football games. She served as an orientation leader on campus. She remembers the joy she felt on her own Move-In Day and having someone else help carry her belongings up to her new dorm.
“The energy of it all was a lot of fun,” said Southern. “My dad was living it up because he’s very handy and he was going around building everyone’s furniture and having the time of his life being a dad.”
Simone Royal ’17, interim associate director for CREDE, lived on campus for all four years and felt fortunate to live in the new facilities of the Global Neighborhood and Park Place. CREDE supports Move-In Day by providing SMART (Student Mentors Advising Rising Talent) mentors who assist with new student move-in across the different campus neighborhoods.
“Elon cares from the very beginning how they welcome students to campus,” said Royal. “Elon prioritizes the student experience, and it is very evident every year during orientation weekend with the ease and simplicity of Move-In Day for all the new students and their families.”
Brown said that Move-In Day is a great reminder of why he is working at a university, noting that the day is about more than moving boxes.
“I want to show students that those at Elon care about them,” said Brown. “Move-In is not just ‘here, take my boxes up to my dorm and say okay good luck.’ It’s also about the effort to have a conversation – and that matters.’”
Brown returned to his first dorm room, Smith 310, and introduced himself to the new residents. He said the place meant a lot to him and he hopes that showing up will show the new residents this place can mean a lot to them.
Jackie Gardner Allred ’94 also visits her former room, West 216, to greet the newest residents and said it is her favorite thing about Move-In Day. She said much has changed since she first moved in and there was far less fanfare than there is now.
Allred and Southern both worked at Schar Center to check in people in their cars. Brown helped move people into the Colonnades Neighborhood.
“There is something special about everyone from all areas of campus working together for the same goal,” said Allred. “It’s a great opportunity to meet and spend time with many people across various areas of campus that you may not interact with on a regular basis.”
Brown reflected on growing up in a small community in Greensboro. “Going to Elon was like going to the Ritz-Carlton for me – how can I not give back or find ways to get involved?” he said.
Elon shaped the person Brown is today, and he feels a sense of responsibility to figure out how he can best support efforts like Move-In.
Southern described herself as Elon’s biggest fan. “I just had such a phenomenal experience because of the people who poured time and effort into me,” she said. “And I felt like everything that I did here, even just working in the office, set me up for some level of future success. And so, for me, it felt really impactful and exciting to be on the other side of Move-In and to provide students that same experience.”