A leadership development and service program for new students this fall will take freshmen across the United States and Costa Rica.
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Elon’s inaugural Gap Semester Program started this month with 15 students in the freshmen class taking part in the university’s newest undergraduate offering.
The group met for the first time on Aug. 22 at the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyo., where they embarked on the three-pronged program designed for students who wish to begin their college education through a leadership and service experience while earning 8 hours of academic credit.
The group is led by Associate Dean of Students Rex Waters and Gap Coordinator Steve Morrison, as well as guides who will facilitate a three-week NOLS backpacking trek in the Asorkas mountain range.
Waters incorporated an Elon tradition into the program by giving each student an acorn and delivering key points from Elon University President Dr. Leo Lambert’s New Student Convocation speech.
“I enjoyed meeting each of the Gap participants,” Waters said. “Their excitement and apprehension were both significant as they made their final preparations to begin their journey and their Elon University experience. I have great expectations of who will greet me when I arrive to pick them up from the NOLS program and transition to the first service site in South Dakota.”
The students from the Class 0f 2016 who comprise the inaugural cohort are:
- Catherine Hollister
- Rachel Pileggi
- Evan Spanitz
- Sarah Krulewitz
- Caitlin Noll
- Andrew Reed
- Chris Grippo
- Zachary Angell
- Dan Zangmeister
- Savannah Kittrell
- Danny Bavis
- Corey Shegda
- Kelly Maxwell
- Galen Schneider
- Bill Kelly
Learn more about the students and their program goals on the Gap Semester Program website.